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It’s been a tough day for anyone who believed in fairness.
In fact, I really can only think of the famous obituary for English cricket and paraphrase it ever so slightly: “In affectionate remembrance of fairness which died in Switzerland on 24 July 2016. Deeply lamented by a large circle of authoritarian despots and cronies. RIP. Fairness will be cremated and the ashes taken to the Kremlin.”
If we are completely honest, the decision not to ban Russia isn’t a surprise. It was going to take fortitude, integrity and courage, virtues which the IOC have long lacked. However, it was the complete fecklessness of its rationale and the decision to throw other federations under a bus that was disgusting. Pontius Pilate couldn’t have washed his hands better than the IOC.
As the Olympics is sport, this decision has winners and losers. Let’s look at them.
Winners
Vladimir Putin and the Russian cabinet. Well, need we say more?
Non-Russian drug cheats. I hope the Russian athletes who have previously doped and have been suspended take the IOC to court. They’d have a good argument that they are being discriminated against after this ruling.
Why should Yuliya Stepanova be banned, but not Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay or Leshawn Merritt? If you ask me, those three (particularly Gatlin) are more despicable than the Russian cheats; those Americans knowingly and willingly took drugs. The Russians were coerced or perhaps even completely unaware.
Sebastian Coe. He was faced with a similar quandary as the IOC, and with equal pressure to do the right thing. He did. Well done. That the IAAF stance has now been rendered completely meaningless by the IOC is not his fault. He had a bad start, but he will be remembered rightly for someone who acted in accordance with what is right.
Losers
Thomas Bach. Has proven himself to be just as meek, just as feckless, and just as malleable as his predecessors.
The IOC. For all the faults of the IOC (and there were many), you still always knew that FIFA were much, much worse. Well, the IOC got out their extra big shovel last night and declared they were ready to race FIFA to the bottom.
WADA. Five years. This was exposed five years ago, and they sat on their hands for three of them. They passed the buck (heck, they bloody well ignored the buck most times), deflected criticism and let the show roll on for far too long.
Only at the very end did they recalibrate their moral compass, and by then it was too late. They’ve tried to absolve themselves from any blame with this stance, but they’ve failed. If they acted five years ago, or four years ago, or three years ago then the IOC wouldn’t have been forced into making a feckless decision 12 days out from the Games. This could and should have been cleaned up much earlier.
Other sports federations. It’s hard to call them losers, but most are going to let the Russians into the Olympics. It’s not their fault, as most are just way too under-resourced to act in 12 days time, and some sports are just way too low profile to ban people. That said, FINA should follow IAAF and ban the swimmers.
Yuliya Stepanova. I hope she punches Bach square in the face.