Phoney Western Based IOC (Olympics) "bans" Russia from Korea 2018, only allowing athletes to compete as so-called "neutrals"

Enough already wrote:Does anyone else get pissed off when Russian trolls show up on LRC and try to convince us that they are victims? How f*cking stupid do you think we are? Russia has been running a state-sponsored doping system for a long, long time. Maybe they took a breather in the mid-90s, but I doubt it. I have on occasion heard Russians claim that “You taught us how.” LMFAO! Russia are the pioneers and reigning champions of doping, just as they are the pioneers and reigning champions of misinformation. To be sure, there are dopers in Western countries, but I have yet to read or hear evidence of a state-sponsored Western program, let alone one as spectacularly large as that which Russia had going into Sochi. Your ban is well deserved! Consider it a tribute to your stunning achievements in the art of cheating! I hope you miss Tokyo 2020 too!

No to the Russian Olympic Committee(ROC): Alexandr Zhukov has temporarily lost his seat as an IOC member as he is President of the ROC, which has itself been suspended from next year's Games in South Korea. Vitaly Mutko, Russia’s sports minister during Sochi 2014, and his then deputy Yuri Nagornykh, have been given lifetime bans from all future Games. No Russian sports ministry officials will be accredited at PyeongChang. Coaches and support staff will be vetted by a panel, and must sign a declaration proclaiming their non-involvement in doping.

Yes to ‘clean’ athletes: Russian competitors will be allowed at the Olympics in South Korea in February, and “will enjoy the same technical and logistical support as any other Olympic athlete.” Not just any athletes, though, but only those “invited” by the IOC “at its absolute discretion.” A special panel will rule on the eligibility of Russian athletes, who must have a clean doping record, and may be required to undergo additional testing. It is also possible that athletes identified in the McLaren Report or other IOC-backed investigations will be barred by default.

No to national symbols: Both team and individual competitors from Russia will be given the unsightly and awkward designation of “Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR).” OAR will be written on their uniforms, while an Olympic flag will be next to their name, and the Olympic anthem will be played when a medal is awarded to a Russian athlete.

Yes to fines: To compensate the money the IOC and WADA have spent investigating alleged Russian wrongdoing, the ROC will be obliged to pay $15 million “to build the capacity and integrity of the global anti-doping system.”

Maybe to closing ceremony: In a step the IOC may hope provides a narrative of redemption and closure, the Russian team could have its flag and name restored from the closing ceremony onwards, provided the other sanctions and conditions “are fully respected and implemented by the ROC and by the invited athletes and officials.”

qw wrote:

Enough already wrote:Does anyone else get pissed off when Russian trolls show up on LRC and try to convince us that they are victims? How f*cking stupid do you think we are? Russia has been running a state-sponsored doping system for a long, long time. Maybe they took a breather in the mid-90s, but I doubt it. I have on occasion heard Russians claim that “You taught us how.” LMFAO! Russia are the pioneers and reigning champions of doping, just as they are the pioneers and reigning champions of misinformation. To be sure, there are dopers in Western countries, but I have yet to read or hear evidence of a state-sponsored Western program, let alone one as spectacularly large as that which Russia had going into Sochi. Your ban is well deserved! Consider it a tribute to your stunning achievements in the art of cheating! I hope you miss Tokyo 2020 too!

This is exactly what I think. Russians should have been banned for at least 5 years from all sports.

I would also suggest to get rid of this "eternal sufferer syndrome" that you guys have. Never ever its your own fault, its always someone's else fault. LOL

Ellis Cashmore, professor of sociology at Aston University argues this was precisely a politically motivated decision.

“They said this isn’t a political decision. But of course, the world knows that it is exactly that. This has been a controversy that has been clouded in political judgment. It is impossible to separate this particular decision from what is going on in the rest of the world regarding fake news, and the alleged intervention of Russia into Britain’s Brexit vote, and even the American presidential election. There is a lot of this kind of stuff swirling around the world at the moment. A lot of it is beyond belief, frankly. But people are accepting some of it. So, I don’t think you can disentangle the two things.”

Former US diplomat Jim Jatras said he thinks the IOC wasn’t impartial and its move is “clearly political.”

“Let’s remember this is a campaign that has been building for several years since 2014 with the airing of these allegations from Sochi on German TV, American TV. Remember, the banning in Rio of the Russian track and field team, banning the Paralympic team from Russia,” he told RT. “I think the fact that we are talking about the banning the Russian team, the Russian flag, the Russian anthem, shows that this is really directed against Russia per se.”

“It is not a question of clean athletes and athletes that are engaged in doping, which we know is a widespread practice. There was the 2011 WADA report that said between 29 and 45 percent of athletes worldwide were engaged in doping, and this is a problem in many other countries, but Russia has been singled out for the special treatment, particularly against its national symbols, and I think it is indeed quite political,” Jatras pointed out.

Dave Lindorff, the investigative journalist and founding editor of the online newspaper 'This Can't Be Happening,' told RT that “a lot of countries have organized schemes of doping their athletes.”

“I can’t think of a time when a country has been banned for that even when it was clear that it was done with higher authority from the government. I have to say, this looks like totally about politics. It is not about cleaning up the Olympic sport,” he added.

“The banning of the whole country’s team is excessive. They could have solved the problem by putting extra tests on Russian athletes if they were suspicious,” he continued.