In another sign of war fatigue in the West, and perhaps amid greater realization that 'punishing' the Russian people is having no real effect on the course of the Ukraine war, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has finally eased restrictions on Russian athletes ahead of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) has provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) that had been in effect since 12 October 2023," the Olympic body stated Tuesday.
"The decision was taken following a thorough analysis by the IOC’s Legal Affairs Commission, considering that the ROC no longer includes as its members any regional sports organizations in territories falling under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine," it continued.
Still, it sought to assure 'solidarity' with Ukraine, stating additionally: "The IOC stands in solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine, which the Olympic movement has supported since the beginning of the war, and will continue to do so."
The past several yeas has seen Russian and Belarusian athletes compete only under 'neutral' status. The new policy change has yet to indicate whether Russia will be able to display its flag or colors, or play its anthem - but presumably so.
Russian athletes can now compete as long as they "meet relevant anti-doping requirements," the IOC made clear in announcing the status change.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry has started speaking some sense:
“We don’t want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their government.”
“We made it clear that all athletes had the possibility to compete at the Olympic Games. This is what this decision speaks to. It allows Russian athletes to take part in sports competitions. We thought it was really important for athletes to have that possibility,” Coventry said.
Some pundits have for years been pointing out a glaring double standard: Israel's invasion of Gaza has by any estimate resulted in far more civilian deaths than the Ukraine war, yet the IOC has not considered banning Israeli athletes.
George W. Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq resulted in - according to various estimates - between 500,000 and one million Iraqi civilian deaths. What's more is that it was only within years later the entire case the Neocons made for the invasion was proven an absolute fraudulent lie. Where were the IOC punitive actions against American athletes? It wasn't even a thought.
Similarly, Washington's bombing and invasion of Afghanistan turned into a more than two-decade long quagmire full of civilian death and destruction for entire towns and villages. And not a peep from the IOC or any Olympic officials.
The clear pattern has been that only those enemies and rivals of the Western allies get banned from the games.