Reflections on the Olympics
Photo by Alex Smith on Unsplash
The Olympics are nearly upon us. On the one hand it’s quite a feat — a testament to tenacity in the face of a global pandemic. On the other hand, it has been suffering from a seemingly endless litany of ills — lessons we as a society still haven’t learned.
In February, the Olympic organizing chief Yoshiro Mori stepped down due to sexist remarks, having been quoted as saying women talk too much and that meetings with many female board directors would "take a lot of time".
Just one month later, the Opening Ceremonies creative director stepped down over disparaging remarks made about a Japanese female entertainer.
More recently, on the eve of the Games, not one but two people have either resigned or been fired from the Opening Ceremonies due to past incidents of bullying, abusive, and offensive behavior, including bullying of people with disabilities (a particularly bad look for ceremonies that are supposed to champion not just the Olympics but also the Paralymics).
To its credit, the IOC has somewhat relaxed their rules regarding protests. Yet other archaic rules have remained, including banning swim caps designed for Black hair, suspending players for marijuana use (a drug that is legal in many places and is hardly “performance enhancing”), and fining women for wearing too much clothing (even while other female athletes are being shamed for wearing too little).
And the ongoing COVID situation has resulted in its own unique set of discriminatory rules and regulations.
At first, Olympians were completely prohibited from bringing their nursing infants. Under mounting pressure, the IOC reversed this blanket prohibition. Yet the restrictions in place on bringing nursing babies and family members are still so strict that Olympians feel forced to make the tough decision whether or not it’s feasible to do so.
And just earlier this week, a deaf-blind Paralympian withdrew because the USOPC denied her request to allow her to be accompanied by a personal care assistant (PCA). The USOPC seemed satisfied that one on-staff PCA would be on-site to assist nearly three dozen athletes, including nine others with blindness.
It just doesn’t feel like the Olympics is living up to the ideals it’s supposed to embody. Maybe it’s time to admit this Olympics just wasn’t meant to be.