We Will ROC You

Russia won't be in Tokyo.  Or Beijing.   At least, the name "Russia" and Russian flag won't be.  There'll still be a Russian team, though.  And, while it won't be as big as you'd normally expect, it still figures to be fairly large.  So really, the only difference, is that the uniforms will be generic and the Russian anthem won't be played for gold medal winners.

As part of Russia's punishment for its doping scandal, the word "Russia" can't be used at all in international sports for the next two years.  Russian athletes are officially being designated as "neutrals," and this time they won't be given that ridiculous "Olympic Athlete From Russia" moniker.  Instead of "OAR", they'll be "ROC," which is just the abbreviation for "Russian Olympic Committee."  Although, since you can't say "Russia," it won't be spelled out.  It'll be just the abbreviation.

If you don't think that sounds like much of a suspension, you're not alone.  The ROC thing is perhaps even dumber than the OAR thing.  In PyeongChang, they at least had to compete under the Olympic flag and listen to the Olympic anthem.  In Tokyo and Beijing, they'll have their own flag (the ROC logo on a white background), and they'll be allowed to choose a piece of music to play at medal ceremonies (hopefully something by Tchaikovsky).

Contrast that to what happened to Kuwait in 2016.  The Kuwait Olympic Committee was suspended by the IOC for government interference in 2015, and Kuwaiti athletes had to compete under the Olympic flag as "Independent Olympic Athletes" at the Rio Games.  Shooter Fehaid Al-Deehani won Kuwait's first-ever Olympic gold medal in Rio.  Except he didn't.  Because Kuwait was suspended, the medal didn't count for them and he had to listen to the Olympic anthem while watching the Olympic flag be raised.

Government interference in the NOC is one of the IOC's biggest no-nos, and it pretty much guarantees that country a suspension.  But is that worse than what Russia did?  Yes, they both had their name and flag banned.  But the one that committed a fairly minor offense was basically treated as if it didn't exist, while the one was guilty of a widespread state-run doping scandal gets to use a compromise name, flag and song.  Can you say unequal punishment?

We all know the reason why Russia is being treated differently, of course.  It's because they're Russia.  Russia committed an egregious offense that warranted international suspension.  However, you couldn't come down too hard on them since Russia's so influential and you want to stay in their good graces.  As a result, they end up getting what amounted to a slap on the wrist.

When Russia's international suspension was originally handed down last year, it was supposed to last four years.  That was eventually reduced to two years.  The World Anti-Doping Association had a chance to appeal, but decided against it, so the suspension will end in December 2022 (maybe we'll be allowed to go places and do things and be near other people again by then).

I wasn't surprised that the suspension was reduced.  In fact, I was expecting it.  The whole point was to make them miss one Summer and one Winter Olympics.  However, with the Tokyo Games delayed, a four-year suspension would've kept them out of the Paris Games, as well.  That idea didn't sit well with me, especially since they effectively sat out 2020 anyway, so I was thinking they'd cut it to three.

Reducing it to two achieved the same purpose of making them miss two Olympics, as well as the 2022 World Cup.  And, by letting them compete under their own name and flag in 2023, it gives Russian athletes a full year to qualify for Paris without any eligibility questions hanging over their heads.  So, I'm actually OK with the two years.

What I don't like, though, is all the compromises that were made, all of which favor Russia.  Because they're making a mockery of the "neutral" thing! 

Every sport is determining the eligibility of Russian athletes on its own, and each has its own designation for the Russians.  Some sports, like tennis (which, granted, has one of the best anti-doping programs of any sport), don't care at all.  Daniil Medvedev still had "RUS" and a Russian flag next to his name during his run to the Australian Open final.  Most others simply use the abbreviation and logo of Russia's federation for the given sport (RSU for speed skating, RHF for handball, etc.).  So much for not saying "Russia!"

It's really only in track & field where Russia is being held accountable.  Russia has been suspended by World Athletics since 2015, and any Russian who's approved to compete must do so as an "Authorized Neutral Athlete."  And that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.  Even after Russia's all-sports suspension ends in December 2022, don't expect their track & field federation to be reinstated right away.  It'll be seven years at that point.  They're clearly not in any rush to bring the Russians (even the clean ones) back into the fold.

Unfortunately, he IOC doesn't really have the luxury of excluding Russia entirely.  (I also strongly agree with the idea that you can't unfairly punish the clean athletes.)  So they're stuck in what's really an impossible situation.  They need to hold Russia accountable and let the other nations know that they're competing on a level playing field.  But Russia is also too important to the movement, and you don't want to be too harsh (even for an offense as egregious as this).

They most definitely didn't come down too hard on Russia.  If anything, they were too soft.  They've turned a two-year suspension into, effectively, a slap on the wrist.  Which doesn't do anything to make anyone feel any better about the Russians being in Tokyo and Beijing.  Even if their name, flag and anthem aren't.