The Russia Decision

The IOC has made its decision.  The Russian Olympic Committee has been suspended, effective immediately, making Russia the first country ever suspended for doping.  But the IOC was left with no other choice.  The evidence was overwhelming and so many other nations were clamoring for Russia's exclusion that any other decision wouldn't have been acceptable.

It wasn't just the only decision that the IOC could make.  It was the right one.  The evidence was overwhelming, and no compromise solution would've gotten the point across.  Russia's flag will not fly in PyeongChang.  For a country whose national pride is so tied to success in athletics, that's the strongest message you can send.  And it also tells everyone else that if the IOC is willing to do this to Russia, imagine what they'll do to them.

When Russia wasn't banned for the Rio Games, despite many of the same nations calling for one then, I agreed with the decision to let them compete.  Just like I agree with the decision the IOC made regarding PyeongChang.  So why do I feel differently now?  What's changed in the last 16 months?  What's so different that they imposed a ban now when they refused to back then?

Well, for starters, the IOC didn't have all the evidence before Rio.  Or, let me rephrase that, they didn't have enough time between the release of the McLaren Report and the start of the Olympics to go through a thorough due process, and any decision rendered without due process would've been unjust (and probably wouldn't have held up).  But they've since been able to come to a conclusion based on all of the evidence and testimony presented to them that this was an egregious violation of fair play and the Olympic ideals.

There's another key difference between Rio and PyeongChang.  Heading into Rio, the only summer sport implicated was track & field, a sport which had already taken its own action against Russia.  But the manipulation in Sochi took place in an Olympic lab.  Russia's seen its Sochi medal total drop from 33 to 22 (so far), which means the violations were in multiple sports.  And the worst part of all this is that this all took place during the Olympics!

Russian athletes were thrown a bit of a bone, too.  The IOC will let Russians go to PyeongChang if they can prove they're "clean," although how they'll determine that remains unclear.  But the point is the athletes (who didn't have anything to do with this) won't be punished for the misdeeds of the suits.  And you can bet we'll see plenty of Russians in Korea.  They won't be denied their Olympic dream.  And they shouldn't be.

They've even come up with a fancy new abbreviation for them OAR--"Olympic Athletes From Russia."  They won't see their flag raised or hear their anthem played, but they're not having their national identity taken away.  And that's important.  Just ask the Kuwaiti shooter who won gold in Rio as an "Independent Olympic Athlete."  Or Maria Lasitskene, who won gold in the high jump at the track & field World Championships under that humiliating "ANA" designation the IAAF uses.

Furthermore, even if they'd gone to PyeongChang as "Independent Olympic Athletes," everyone would've known what country they're from.  So why pretend they aren't Russian?  Even without a flag or logo, they'll still be Russian (or representing Russia in the case of Viktor Ahn or Vic Wild).

We don't know what this means for the Russian hockey or curling teams, either.  The KHL had an Olympic break built into its schedule.  If they decide to eliminate that Olympic break, that eliminates a large pool of players that would've made up the bulk of the Olympic hockey rosters for every country.  And that's assuming they deem enough Russians eligible for them to field a team.  What happens then?  Do you replace them?  Two months before the tournament?  With the schedule already made?

Of course, not everyone is satisfied with this soluton.  There are the people who wanted a complete ban, extending to the athletes, too.  They see this as the IOC "giving in."  Well, the IOC is in an unenviable position and toeing a very delicate line.  "Collective justice" may sound great in theory, but it's much more complicated in practice.  It was impossible to make everyone happy.

And there are others out there saying "what about the athletes who had their Olympic dream or moment stolen?"  Well, there's never going to be a satisfactory answer to that question.  And that's the most heartbreaking part of this whole situation.  For their part, the IOC is planning on having medal ceremonies in PyeongChang for those athletes who've been upgraded as a result of the Russian DQ's.  Although, that's never going to be enough I'm afraid.  The medal is only part of it.  They'll never have the moment.

Let's not forget the bottom line in all this.  What the Russians allegedly did in Sochi was an attack on the institution of the Olympic Games.  Something had to be done.  Something drastic.  Sure, there will still be Russians in PyeongChang and they'll still win medals.  But those medals won't be won for Mother Russia.  And everyone will know the reason why.  Is it the ideal scenario?  No.  But nothing about this is ideal.  Nothing.