On Tuesday the International Olympics Committee announced that the Russian athletes are banned from the Winter Olympics due to doping. It a Russian athlete wants to compete they must petition for permission and the IOC will rule if they are allowed to compete. If they get this special dispensation then they are not competing for Russia and have to wear a neutral uniform. The Russian Olympic Committee was also fined $15 million.
After extensive investigation the IOC found that in the 2014 Olympics Russia tampered with over 100 urine samples. So far over two dozen athletes have been disqualified and they are still investigating.
These penalties are the most severe in Olympic history and the Russians think it is too harsh. Some officials have threatened to protest but we are still waiting for Russia's response. Russia’s former sports minister argues that many people's dreams of representing their country at the Olympics are being stolen. He suggests banning the Russian Olympic Committee for two years until they can be re-certified by anti doping regulators.
While I do see that the people who do not use drugs to boost their performance will not have the opportunity to win their medals, I think stopping Russian doping is more important. Hopefully after this punishment, doping in Russian Olympic team will stop for good. When the Russian team does compete again I think they should be closely observed to make sure this does not happen again.
Do you think the punishment is too harsh? Is it worth punishing the athletes who didn't cheat to stop others from doing so?
23 comments:
I also don't think the punishment is too harsh. The Russian doping scandal wasn't a few lone athletes trying to better than chances of winning a medal; it was a systematic, state-funded effort with a bunch of extremely deceitful schemes by Russian agents (for example, passing a clean urine sample through a hole in the wall of the antidoping labs at the 2014 Sochi Olympics). This doping scandal prevented dozens or hundreds of other athletes from winning the medals they deserved. While the IOC may be punishing some athletes who didn't cheat, they kept the door open for Russian athletes to compete under the name "Olympic Athletes from Russia" (although Russia will still be listed as winning 0 medals).
I definitely think the IOC made the right choice. When over 100 urine samples are tampered with, it's clear that this isn't just one or two Russian athletes trying to gain an unfair advantage; this is government-backed cheating. Such action cannot go lightly punished, and the alternate route towards participation for Russian athletes is nice. However, I'm not too sure how possible it is for these athletes to cheat in other Winter Olympics outside of Russia, especially with stricter inspections and guidelines after Sochi.
I also agree with Brooke that the punishment was not too harsh. So, I do believe that it is worth punishing the athletes who did not cheat in order to stop others from doping. I believe that the IOC could have even made a more severe punishment because A LOT of planning was involved with the Russian doping scandal, so it was not as simple as just switching out urine samples. Instead, Russians had to carefully plan and execute in order to be successful, which ended up failing. However, I do think that it is fair to allow Russian athletes to compete with a neutral uniform because it is very unlikely that any of these athlete would be able to pull off another doping scandal or would even think of tampering with the urine samples.
In my opinion, I think it's unfair how athletes representing Russia who didn't use performance enhancing drugs are getting punished for something they didn't do. These athletes are training every roughly every single day for four years, only to find out that they won't be able to compete as part of Russia. However, I understand that the whole team did it and there's really know solid way of figuring out who didn't cheat. With that being said I think this punishment is fair because it'll deter other countries from doing what Russia did or something similar in the future Olympics. I'd also like to mentioned how Russia probably wasn't the only country doping, or using performance enhancing drugs in the past Olympics, so punishing Russia to send out a message to every other country to not cheat is a smart move.
I also agree that the IOC's punishment was the right decision. The Olympics is a prestigious, world-renowned event so doping and tampering with urine samples is definitely punishable. I actually read from one of the Don Roll posts that "Russian athletes who weren’t found to be doping can still compete in the games, [but] they will have to do so independently," which is reasonable.
Its shocking, but I don't think that this punishment was too harsh. It's unfortunate that the athletes from Russia won't be attending, but tampering with urine samples and doping is sometehing that should be strictly punished, so I believe that this was the right decision.
I, too, am in agreement with the idea that the punishment was not too harsh; while it was not, perhaps, just to all, it was necessary. Both Chris and Meiling pointed out the extent to which doping is an issue, and it is clearly widespread. Especially because tampering with urine samples illustrates the intent to cheat the system to benefit themselves at the expense of other athletes, because there is no foolproof way to identify and single-out the athletes who tampered with the evidence, I think the IOC was completely valid with the decision.
I am in agreement with most of the people who commented. I do not think the IOC's punishment was too harsh, and believe it to be the appropriate decision. If the Russian Olympic Team didn't want to face the consequences of cheating and using drugs, and then going so far as to tamper with urine samples, then they shouldn't have done it in the first place. In my opinion, this is like if a child breaks a rule and then gets punished by its parents--then complains about it. I think if the Russian team is willing to break the rules for an unfair advantage, then they should suffer the appropriate consequences.
I'm not quite in agreement with the Olympic committee's decision to ban the entire Russian national team. I am personally against punishing the whole for a part's wrongdoing. There are definitely many people in Russia who don't dope and just wanted to bring fame to their country but now they can't because they are all banned from competing for Russia. Instead, they should have given punishment to the cheaters more harshly than everyone else. The athletes knew doping was illegal but they did it anyway. Also, the urine samples were tampered with so I wouldn't feel bad about permanently banning these athletes but also letting the innocent athletes compete for Russia.
I too believe that the IOC made the right decision in punishing Russia. If Russia were to go unpunished, I think there would be no doubt that more cheating would occur in the future. This would be unacceptable especially due to how prestigious the event is. I also think the fact that the athletes that didn't cheat can still compete is a great addition even though they will not be representing Russia. It makes sure that those who didn't cheat won't be punished for others' actions.
I agree with what everyone has said, and would also like to point out that this is not the first time that Russia has been punished for doping. In 2016, the entire Russian Track and Field team was banned from competing at the games. I think that the punishment is also extremely fair because it gives every athlete the opportunity to prove that they were not a part of the scandal and still compete in the games. Although they will not be able to wear their country's colors, I think this is also fair as it distances the honest athletes from the their team's wrongdoings. I think the harsh punishments on the systematic doping of the Russian team as is necessary to discourage such actions by any other countries in the future, since the Olympics are a large event with lots of significance and importance, and a huge amount of of national and international pride.
The punishment for the Russians is not too harsh in my opinion. The Russians are not being banned from competing, the IOC is just taking extensive measures to ensure that doping will not take place. This is fair, given that there was great evidence of cheating in the 2014 Olympics. It is absolutely necessary to ensure that the Olympics are fair, and if there is even a tiny bit of evidence that there is cheating or collusion, action must be taken. Although it could be stated that the non-cheating athletes should not be punished for the actions of others, the truth is that they are not being punished. They are still able to compete, the process is just a lot harder. It sucks, but it's necessary.
I think that the IOC made the right choice regarding this issue. The Russians were wrong to use drugs and there must be consequences for wrongful actions to ensure that they do not happen again. The only thing that I disagree with regarding the IOC's decision is that not all Russian athletes should be punished if they did not do anything wrong. I understand and agree that there must be consequences for these actions, however, those that did not do anything should not be penalized.
I agree with Allie. I can understand the IOC decision for suspending the Russian team for the Winter Olympics because of the evidence that proves they were using drugs. The only part that seems unfair is that athletes who were not involved in the scandal are going to be punished. I understand that athletes can compete as a neutral athlete, but it is a shame they can't represent their country. Overall I think that the action taken is necessary, but the whole situation is unfortunate.
The punishment is not too harsh since so many urine samples were tampered with. It wouldn't as bad if there were only a few athletes using dope, but over 100 in unacceptable. Along with the fact that many Russian athletes are doping, the ban isn't unfair because people who are clean of drugs can still complete if they get permission. It's important to use harsh punishment in this situation because it will scare cheaters off for the future. The IOC cannot allow Russia to keep getting away with cheating as it has been a problem in the past too.
Given that there were over 100 urine samples that were tampered, I believe that this punishment is very fitting. I think this was the right thing to do as it sends a message to everyone and shows that the IOC is dealing with doping very seriously and strictly. I also agree with Chris's view on how the IOC is still allowing athletes that are clean to play by asking for permission. I believe this is fair because people who have worked so hard up to this point are still allowed to compete and finish what they have started.
I think this punishment is totally fair. When I first heard about it, I was a little apprehensive about how necessary an extreme punishment was, but then realized that the IOC is allowing athletes to petition if they still want to compete. Of course, it is important to note the fact that many Russian athletes are disappointed because they will not be able to represent Russia, but I'd imagine they'd be making their country proud by competing in the Olympics in the first place, even if it means not representing their country with a particular uniform.
Not only is this punishment fair, it is necessary. It sends a strong and necessary message to all of the athletes in the Olympics who use drugs to improve their athletic abilities. In general, I hope that this is enough to address the issue of doping in the Olympics. Fairness should always be prioritized, and I think the IOC is doing a great job addressing the problem of doping.
I definitely do not believe the punishment Is too harsh. The IOC made a clear statement that it will not tolerate any sort of cheating at its games, and if this is the extent they have to go to get their message across, so be it. To the argument that this penalty punishes athletes for something they didn't do: yes, technically this is true, but the Olympics are not an individual event, but rather serve to unify an entire country. Olympians are supposed to be representing and competing on behalf their nations, not themselves, so when many athletes from a particular country cheat, that country should be punished collectively. Sure, if it's just one athlete, maybe it's a different story. But this was an epidemic in which many more people were involved than just those competing.
I think that the IOC got this punishment wrong, when it could have easily been done right. Let me explain:
In the official statement that the IOC released to explain their decision to ban the Russian athletes who had doped, they directly compared the situation in Russia to the one that occurred in East Germany. Back when Germany was divided into two, East Germany was notorious for giving their athletes high-powered PEDs to boost the state image by winning medals in the Olympics. East Germany had given their athletes (many of whom later suffered mentally and physically because of the drugs) so many PEDS that they were known as the pioneers of doping.
While the situation in Russia is certainly not as serious as the one in East Germany, if the IOC was going to make such a grand claim, they needed to back it up with a FULL ban of all Russian athletes, to send a message to the rest of the world that doping is truly not acceptable under any circumstance. Instead, they somewhat cowardly decided to still allow clean Russian athletes to participate. Why this is dumb? While I am all for the spirit of the game and for the IOC's effort to (rightly) ban the athletes that have been proven to dope, they did not do enough to send a message. They needed to punish everyone involved, whether that be a clean or doping athlete, because anyone should be able to realize that with today's medicine and technology, athletes who want to dope can remain five steps ahead of detection and still manage to use PEDs. For all we know, it is probably safe to assume that there are scores of other Russian athletes, as well as athletes from all other nations, who dope and have not been caught, and will still be able to participate in the Olympics. This even happens in sports leagues in the U.S.! Many athletes will always continue to find loopholes to gain an advantage, and if they can do so without getting caught, they will do it.
By punishing all of the Russians, the IOC could have sent a strong, threatening message to the entire world and set the precedent against doping for all. Instead, they still allowed some Russians to participate in the spirit of the games, which as a sports-supporter is hard to disagree with, but in this case I will disagree with. On another note, not punishing all athletes left some power in Putin's hands, as although he did not decide to boycott the Olympics and withdraw all Russians, he could have easily done so to make a statement. Imagine if that occurred. Then, it wouldn't be the IOC banning the Russians; rather, the Russians could claim that it is them deciding not to go out of defiance.
I don't know if any of what I said actually made sense or not, but overall I think that the punishment was not harsh enough. The IOC should have went the extra miles and banned all Russians, to make a statement against doping and to remain on top in terms of decision making. While banning the athletes who did dope was a positive step, banning everyone involved could have shown the world that doping is REALLY not ok, which is how it should be considered. At the beginning of it all, the Olympics was a test of natural ability, and shouldn't it remain this way?
I think the IOC made the right decision by banning Russia because it is showing how the administration isn't taking this situation lightly. I do feel bad for those who had been practicing for hours everyday of their life just for the Olympics, but I think when there are 100 different urine samples being tampered with, that makes me feel as if the majority of the team did use illegal drugs. Doping is a form of cheating since it is used for performance enhancement. This would've given Russia an unfair advantage and it is a good thing that they were caught. The IOC needs to take these actions in order to show the public that doping is not acceptable and will not be condoned. Cheating is unacceptable and I don't think the punishment is too harsh. Those on Russia's team who didn't use any drugs have the ability to petition to still compete , even if it isn't for Russia. The punishment was fair for the circumstance and its important to take action to prevent any other cheating from occurring in the future.
I think that, like many others above stated before, this punishment is a little too harsh. Firstly, it is my belief that the group should not be punished for a whole. Even though there are many people that use performance enhancing drugs on the Russian team, the whole team should not be banned because of this group of people. This is much like the cheating crisis at our school. Many people in our grade cheat and if we were all punished for that group of people that cheat, then it would be highly unjust. Yes, those that cheated should be completely banned from the Olympics. This will send a strong enough message to all other athletes to not cheat.
I think that this is an extremely harsh punishment. While doping gave some athletes an advantage, it's not fair to punish the entire time. For an athlete who was not apart of this who trained hours a day, it's unjust to take away their olympic dream based on others actions. While cheating is unacceptable, I do not believe that the entire team should be banned.
I believe that IOC was sending a message in this banning and that the punishment which they enforced wasn't too harsh regarding the circumstances. Like many have stated above, it was a systematic, widespread scandal amongst many Russian athletes. Also, those who didn't cheat are still able to compete for their personal pride and achievement, making this punishment reasonable for all.
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