Posted by
Furious on Friday, July 25, 2008 9:04:37 AM
There is a story today stating that the I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee) has just refused recognition of five of the seven athletes from Iraq because of something about Iraq’s political corruption or some other such nonsense. I mean really, if the I.O.C. routinely refused nation’s athletes based on ANY kind of corruption; ninety per cent of the world would be disqualified.
The Olympics were never supposed to be about politics; it’s always been about the athletes. It should be about nothing else. I mean if they excused Nazi Germany to the point of giving them the games in the thirties… if they turned their backs on the gulags and oppression rampant in the Soviet Union and their satellites in the fifties and sixties and gave them the games… if they now ignore the atrocities having been done and now being done in this years host-China…
How in hell can they deny seven brave souls a chance to just show up and wave their flag? Some of these athletes may just be survivors of Uday Hussein’s reign of terror as Iraq’s previous Olympic head. If not, then they are at least familiar with their nation’s tragic history.
The IOC defends itself with this travesty by claiming Iraq refused a meeting in Switzerland with someone more legitimate than the present head of the Iraqi Olympic movement. They also claim that they have previously bestowed special considerations upon Iraq in the past few Olympics. So the IOC points their hypocritical finger at the Iraqi government.
I don’t know all the details because it seems to be a little reported story. Much like the fool Jimmy Carter denied our athletes their moment in the spotlight for purely political reasons, the fools at the IOC just denied seven (seven mind you) a chance to just be proud and compete. Maybe their delegation marching in the Olympic parade would provide just a small amount of national pride, badly needed in this fractured , newborn nation. What harm would it do the Olympics to just let them play? What’s the point? And why is this an issue now?
I think Iraq’s freedom worries some of the world’s despots. Most of them spare no expense to promote their own nation, yet seem to worry that this “freedom thing” may swallow their despotism as well. We would all be a more blessed world, if that were so.
I say, let ‘em play. If not then this will make the already corrupt and disturbingly commercial Olympic movement seem very petty and as political as the nation they accuse of such.
Regardless, although I used to look forward to the every four year event, I now shake my head at what the IOC has become. To hell with it all, I ain’t watching.
When they root out their own corruption; then they may have the moral authority to ban the seven brave souls who simply want to go to China and be part of the world again.