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AllMuckNoPuck t1_j5vfxvn wrote

There is no point if you’re allowing athletes to compete under a neutral flag, at that point you might as well just let them compete under their own flag

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mayy_dayy t1_j5vyrih wrote

"No flag, no country! That's the rules... that I've just made up."

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goliathfasa t1_j5xjmzm wrote

And I’m backing that up with this rifle that’s lent form the National Rifle Association.

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Old_Week t1_j5x2wf7 wrote

Uh, no. The “Olympic Athletes from Russia” team is totally different from the Russian Olympic Team. There’s pretty much no relation to the sanctioned country.

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JordanPoohole3 t1_j5yvo8f wrote

I still think forcing them to compete under a random nation/their most hated rival’s flag is the best punishment!! MORE MEDALS FOR UKRAINE

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MeatballDom t1_j5xs1ag wrote

On the one hand, absolutely, there's really no point in doing this if it's just this.

On the other, athletes don't deserve punishment or exclusion from an event like the Olympics, many of which this will be their only shot at ever competing in, just because their leader is a dick.

It would be nice to make some sort of demand that tv broadcasting affiliates never show the combined medal tally for the unaffiliated athletes though. Even though it means absolutely nothing in reality, these sorts of things do matter for propaganda purposes and "unaffiliated Russian athletes" or "Russia" not showing up at all on these leaderboards will sting a bit for Russian politicians, even if they pretend it doesn't.

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angryve t1_j5yfdb3 wrote

I’ll go ahead and emphatically disagree. Plenty of other jobs have been impacted in Russia due to sanctions. Being an athlete doesn’t make one special. They can deal with their country’s politics if they don’t like it.

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The_ApolloAffair t1_j5yoydw wrote

The Olympics have always been about competing in sports despite any governmental conflict. That’s how it was in Ancient Greece, and that’s how it has continued to be.

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angryve t1_j5yp7n7 wrote

Civilizations grow with time, otherwise we’d still have slavery in the US/Europe. It’s time for the Olympics to grow with the rest of society and stand up against a genocide and illegal occupation

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JordanPoohole3 t1_j5yvrtj wrote

“That’s how it was in Ancient Greece…” do you know what year it is dude??

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The_ApolloAffair t1_j5z5hzs wrote

The US invaded Iraq and overthrew their government. Where was the Olympic ban for that? Where is the Olympic ban for Israel’s war crimes in Palestine? If the Olympics is going to take a stand against war/war crimes, they need to be consistent, and not just vilify the current bogeyman of the west.

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JordanPoohole3 t1_j5zie25 wrote

Well true. But the IOC has always been extremely pro-West and politically biased so…

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notquitetoplan t1_j5yjlwt wrote

Unfortunately the reality is that Olympic athletes are representatives of their countries, as much as they are competing for themselves. And especially in Russia. Yes, it would suck for a lot of people if they were completely banned. But that isn’t anyone’s fault but their own government. The IOC isn’t responsible for that.

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[deleted] t1_j5xs6g9 wrote

[deleted]

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obi_wan_the_phony t1_j5y1fto wrote

Tell that to Ukrainian athletes who instead of competing are just trying to survive. There is no fairness argument here

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angryve t1_j5yfp3c wrote

No it wouldn’t. Plenty of other jobs have been affected by the sanctions. What makes athletes special? They can run faster on a track than others, or throw a rock farther than others?

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