Should Politics Govern Olympic Boycotts?

[triptwister]

Mark Bennett Tribune-Star columnist in TERRE HAUTE Indiana wrote a recent article...

MARK BENNETT: 30 years ago, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympic Summer Games denied ISU gymnast Kurt Thomas a chance at history Opinion News From Terre Haute, Indiana

...and in it he describes the boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games by Jimmy Carter over Russia invading Afghanistan. Something I find to be ironic when America found reason to do this very thing on October 7, 2001 and invaded Afghanistan as well.

After all has been said and done should we lobby to prevent using political ideologies to boycott Olympic Games? Should we take a stand and protest this? Or should we continue to allow our government to decide whether American athletes have "permission" to compete in the ultimate arena?

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Before discussion kicks off: we generally like the Chalk Bucket to be a politics-free zone.

However, this discussion does specifically relate to gymnastics, so I'll allow it for now.

Everybody, please restrict the discussion to politics specifically relating to the olympics, and avoid turning this into a general political debate about the Carter administration (or any other administration, for that matter), or about political ideology in general.

 

[triptwister]

http://www.chalkbucket.com/forums/g...-stolen-dreams-1980-moscow-olympic-games.html

I concur with Bruce Davis's opinion that politics should not be used as a weapon against other governments by boycotting Olympics. I wish that Kurt was an advocate against this policy and lobbied to prevent this from happening again in the future. As a famous role model and having suffered the consequences of missing an Olympic experience due to political interests, Kurt's voice would be heard and his notoriety would weigh heavily in his favor.
Please see the series of articles relating to boycotted Olympics starting with the one below...

http://www.letstalkgymnastics.com/PDF/ltgolympics01.pdf

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I agree that boycotting the Olympics to make a political statement seems rather stupid and shallow -- as did much of what both countries did during the cold war. The olympics should stand as an opportunity to bring countries together and to heal these sorts of rifts.

 

[triptwister]

A gymnast I used to coach left me the following message today speaking on this very subject... As per Juan Rodriguez, "Sadly the olympics have always been politicized even in Ancient Greece but I think the founding fathers had it right in that it is a platform were mankind can compete on a stage of peace."

 

[cher062]

Although I don't like governments boycotting the Olympics for political reasons, you do have to take into account the state of the world. Things were very different 30 years ago and over 60 countries boycotted those olympics not just the US. Many of the over 5000 athlets that were slated to go to the Olympics were from countries gave their athlets a choice to go or not and many chose not to go.

I'm not saying that it's right or wrong to boycott but I do understand why it happened back then.

 

[triptwister]

The Movement to Boycott the Berlin Olympics of 1936

Please take a look at history. Perhaps the best and greatest reason to boycott an Olympics (other than for threat of bodily harm) existed at the 1936 Games held by Hitler's Reich in Berlin. The world and especially the United States of America did not want to dignify the anti-Christian and anti-Jewish doctrines of the Nazis'

In the article found at the link at the top of this post "Avery Brundage opposed a boycott arguing that politics had no place in sport. He fought to send a U.S. team to the 1936 Olympics, claiming: "The Olympic Games belong to the athletes and not to the politicians."

Upon participation, it was found that every Gold medal won by countries other than Germany was seen as undermining Hitler's disdain. Compare this to having allowed Kurt Thomas to win an All Around Gold Medal against the Russians in 1980. Instead of dignifying the invasion of Afghanistan, it would have been a blow against Russia's alleged superiority.

In my opinion we should form a National Sports Council that would write-up the parameters whereby a Boycott would be considered and implemented. Unless Martial Law is declared then the government should not prevent athletes from the freedoms they already enjoy and are entitled to exercise.

 

[gymnut1]

The Movement to Boycott the Berlin Olympics of 1936




Upon participation, it was found that every Gold medal won by countries other than Germany was seen as undermining Hitler's disdain. Compare this to having allowed Kurt Thomas to win an All Around Gold Medal against the Russians in 1980. Instead of dignifying the invasion of Afghanistan, it would have been a blow against Russia's alleged superiority.

.

I actually agree with this about Hitler. I also remember being gutted as a child about the 1980s boycotts. All i wanted was to see my favourite athletes compete. However feeling was so strong about it that I knew it wouldn't happen. It wasn't just a decision made by politicians. There was a very strong feeling among the general public in the UK too.

 

[triptwister]

Hear what Bruce Davis reasons about using the Olympics as a political or humanitarian sacrifice...​

"Should each approaching Olympic Games be singled out for a boycott every four years for a current political gripe or a humanitarian cause? The modern Olympic Games were resurrected to help bring mankind and nations together; not to create displays of active discourse over a political conflict or humanitarian cause. Instead of picking on the Olympic Games to boycott, why not instead threaten a boycott of other major world sporting events such the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the Indianapolis 500 auto race, The Masters golf tournament or the World Cup soccer tournament? Better still why not boycott other international events which are not athletic in nature. I am sure we can all think of some world events that merit consideration for boycott. Why pick on the Olympic Games as the “regularly designated patsy” for a threatened boycott or a political protest?"​

See Bruce's Olympic articles at... Let's Tak Gymnastics - Bruce Davis of Apollo Beach Flip Flops and Fitness​

 

[cher062]

I actually agree with this about Hitler. I also remember being gutted as a child about the 1980s boycotts. All i wanted was to see my favourite athletes compete. However feeling was so strong about it that I knew it wouldn't happen. It wasn't just a decision made by politicians. There was a very strong feeling among the general public in the UK too.

I think those of us that remember that time agree with you. There were strong feelings around the world on this.

 

[triptwister]

In my opinion we should form a National Sports Council that would write-up the parameters whereby a Boycott would be considered and implemented. Unless Martial Law is declared then the government should not prevent athletes from the freedoms they already enjoy and are entitled to exercise.

There are other ways that a boycott could be implemented. For example, I believe the National Sports Council or International Sports Union upon ruling to implement a boycott, should give our athletes an alternate venue in which to compete. Either have an alternate location where the boycotting countries will converge (perhaps at a later date), or allow the athletes to hold official Olympic level competitions in their own respective countries. And/or there should be a permanent Olympic location in the world where in the event that an Olympics is boycotted as per approval by athletic governing bodies, then those athletes who are affected could then compete at the alternate location. I'm sure we could come up with viable ways to keep our athletes in the circuit.

It is preposterous to boycott Olympics and punish our our athletes for something they had nothing to do with. The Olympics by their very nature should transcend humanitarian and political agendas.

The bottom line which experience dictates is that something needs to be done.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

chuckie is back posting, eh? well, i'll give you another perspective.

and i must bring religion in this to a point. you see, i am 1/2 jewish on my father's side. 1972, munich. i was a competitive gymnast at that time and was in munich to watch the games with my family and several of my teamates. then, the unthinkable happened. those were my brothers that were murdered.

so, i say boycotting is just fine. there was talk of a boycott several months prior to munich by several countries because of the uprising taking place in Israel at that time.

boycotting during the cold war in 1980 was a necessary evil and potentially may have saved lives. where do you think carter got the idea? and why do you think the boycott was implemented?

the world is a very unsafe place most of the time. and lots of people disliked us then as well as now. i say keep the athletes safe even if it means boycott. period.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

chuckie is back posting, eh? well, i'll give you another perspective.

and i must bring religion in this to a point. you see, i am 1/2 jewish on my father's side. 1972, munich. i was a competitive gymnast at that time and was in munich to watch the games with my family and several of my teamates. then, the unthinkable happened. those were my brothers that were murdered.

so, i say boycotting is just fine. there was talk of a boycott several months prior to munich by several countries because of the uprising taking place in Israel at that time.

boycotting during the cold war in 1980 was a necessary evil and potentially may have saved lives. where do you think carter got the idea? and why do you think the boycott was implemented?

the world is a very unsafe place most of the time. and lots of people disliked us then as well as now. i say keep the athletes safe even if it means boycott. period.

Very good points, which I hadn't given much thought to.

 

[triptwister]

dunno, think before you speak. Security at the Beijing Olympic Games
Safety has already been pronounced and noted in this thread.

There is nothing wrong with you bringing up the memory of Yasser Arafat ordering a terrorist attack on Israeli wrestlers at the 1972 Olympics in Germany. Israeli 1972 Olympic Team Murdered in Munich

However, as mentioned, unless safety is the reason then politics nor humanitarian agendas should interfere with participating in the Olympic Games.

Do you have any idea what a country that is granted the privilege of running the Olympics must spend on security, dunno? Try over a billion dollars!

All Olympics whether on American soil or Russian are precariously dangerous due to terrorism and other threats. If terrorism or other related threats were a reason not to attend an Olympics dunno, then not one single Olympics would be attended. They are all dangerous. They have always been and always will be risky.

Imagine how brave it was for Jewish or African athletes to attend Hitler's 1936 Olympics!

dunno, don't you read a thread before you decide to comment? The reason for the 1980 boycott was already explained. You infer that a nine eleven fear swept the world and we were wet in the pants to go to the Olympics in Russia. You infer that the Russians would have murdered our athletes if we had attended. Or Israelis would have murdered Arabs. Let me just say without the emotion that your phobic mania deserves that this is just plain ignorant.

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan spurred United States President Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from the country by 12:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on February 20, 1980

dunno, use your head. If Russia had withdrawn from Afghanistan then we would have been at the Russian Olympics. Terrorism? Did Carter mention Terrorism?

After the Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan in December 1979 to prop up an unstable pro-Soviet government, the United States reacted quickly and sharply. It suspended arms negotiations with the Soviets, condemned the Russian action in the United Nations, and threatened to boycott the Olympics to be held in Moscow in 1980. When the Soviets refused to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, President Carter finalized his decision to boycott the games. On March 21, 1980, he met with approximately 150 U.S. athletes and coaches to explain his decision. He told the crowd, "I understand how you feel," and recognized their intense disappointment. However, Carter defended his action, stating, "What we are doing is preserving the principles and the quality of the Olympics, not destroying it." Many of the athletes were devastated by the news. As one stated, "As citizens, it is an easy decision to make-support the president. As athletes, it is a difficult decision." Others declared that the president was politicizing the Olympics. Most of the athletes only reluctantly supported Carter's decision.

dunno, do you see anything about terrorism in the above article? Do you see anyone relieved that their lives were spared by not going? Moderators, tell this guy something!

I apologize to the moderators in advance and cite dunno as confrontational. This is not the first time. His impunity is a quandary. I don't understand it. But in this case I am compelled to form and post a rebuttal to his misleading and erroneous confrontational message.

It is a fact dunno that name calling and mocking is against the policies that bogwoppit and Geoffrey Taucer defend here on Chalk Bucket. If you have something to contribute then please keep your comments within the guidelines. Your demeanor is certainly not commensurate with the tone of Chalk Bucket. I have read many of the threads in which you have offered your six pounds of acuity and find that members other than myself, complain.

I don't know why your insolence is tolerated here on Chalk Bucket, dunno. As well as being disrespectful and off topic, your posts at times are simply guttural. Grow up.

 

[gymnut1]

His impunity is a quandary. I don't understand it. - me neither - what does that mean ?

I love the English language Stretch but you do go round the houses sometimes.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Stretch, I really did want to give you a chance, but you aren't making it easy for me. Putting the mod cap back on...

dunno, think before you speak. Security at the Beijing Olympic Games
Safety has already been pronounced and noted in this thread.

There is nothing wrong with you bringing up the memory of Yasser Arafat ordering a terrorist attack on Israeli wrestlers at the 1972 Olympics in Germany. Israeli 1972 Olympic Team Murdered in Munich

However, as mentioned, unless safety is the reason then politics nor humanitarian agendas should interfere with participating in the Olympic Games.

Do you have any idea what a country that is granted the privilege of running the Olympics must spend on security, dunno? Try over a billion dollars!

All Olympics whether on American soil or Russian are precariously dangerous due to terrorism and other threats. If terrorism or other related threats were a reason not to attend an Olympics dunno, then not one single Olympics would be attended. They are all dangerous. They have always been and always will be risky.

Imagine how brave it was for Jewish or African athletes to attend Hitler's 1936 Olympics!

This much I have no objection to.

dunno, don't you read a thread before you decide to comment? The reason for the 1980 boycott was already explained. You infer that a nine eleven fear swept the world and we were wet in the pants to go to the Olympics in Russia. You infer that the Russians would have murdered our athletes if we had attended. Or Israelis would have murdered Arabs. Let me just say without the emotion that your phobic mania deserves that this is just plain ignorant.

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan spurred United States President Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from the country by 12:01 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on February 20, 1980

dunno, use your head. If Russia had withdrawn from Afghanistan then we would have been at the Russian Olympics. Terrorism? Did Carter mention Terrorism?

After the Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan in December 1979 to prop up an unstable pro-Soviet government, the United States reacted quickly and sharply. It suspended arms negotiations with the Soviets, condemned the Russian action in the United Nations, and threatened to boycott the Olympics to be held in Moscow in 1980. When the Soviets refused to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, President Carter finalized his decision to boycott the games. On March 21, 1980, he met with approximately 150 U.S. athletes and coaches to explain his decision. He told the crowd, "I understand how you feel," and recognized their intense disappointment. However, Carter defended his action, stating, "What we are doing is preserving the principles and the quality of the Olympics, not destroying it." Many of the athletes were devastated by the news. As one stated, "As citizens, it is an easy decision to make-support the president. As athletes, it is a difficult decision." Others declared that the president was politicizing the Olympics. Most of the athletes only reluctantly supported Carter's decision.

dunno, do you see anything about terrorism in the above article? Do you see anyone relieved that their lives were spared by not going? Moderators, tell this guy something!

I apologize to the moderators in advance and cite dunno as confrontational. This is not the first time. His impunity is a quandary. I don't understand it. But in this case I am compelled to form and post a rebuttal to his misleading and erroneous confrontational message.

It is a fact dunno that name calling and mocking is against the policies that bogwoppit and Geoffrey Taucer defend here on Chalk Bucket. If you have something to contribute then please keep your comments within the guidelines. Your demeanor is certainly not commensurate with the tone of Chalk Bucket. I have read many of the threads in which you have offered your six pounds of acuity and find that members other than myself, complain.

I don't know why your insolence is tolerated here on Chalk Bucket, dunno. As well as being disrespectful and off topic, your posts at times are simply guttural. Grow up.

This is out of line.

Aside from the first sentence of dunno's post, nothing he said was aggressive or confrontational. He merely disagreed with you. His post was completely on-topic, completely civil, and completely acceptable. He just happened to disagree with you; nothing offensive about a mere difference of opinion. You, stretch, are the one being overly confrontational and aggressive, and we will not tolerate it.