Hey, FIFA and the IOC! Leave Them Russians Alone

Hey, FIFA and the IOC! Leave Them Russians Alone
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons speaks during a IPC press conference in Beijing on March 3, 2022. Zhe Ji/Getty Images for IPC
Patrick Basham
Updated:
Commentary

The politicization of sport was always considered a perversion of the virtues that made athletic endeavors special: vigorous, merit-based competition; fair play; old-school sportsmanship; and contests devoid of malign external influences. Hence, the 1936 Berlin Olympics served for decades as a teachable moment about the tragic interweaving of sports and politics.

Patrick Basham
Patrick Basham
Author
Patrick Basham is founding director of the Democracy Institute, a Washington- and London-based, politically independent research organization.
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