Emma Green Tregaro forced to re-paint fingernails by Swedish Federation!

that would be great! USA would be a paradise.

So much for the sport of T&F.[/quote]

Right. So what if the host country believed that white people and black people should be segregated?

Nattering Nabob wrote:

If you accept an invitation to someone's home and insist on insulting your hosts, you'll probably not be warmly welcomed.

Exactly. Which is why athletes shouldn't be put in the position of being required to visit countries with oppressive laws in order to DO THEIR JOBS.

Nattering Nabob wrote:

Meanwhile, the NY Times is devoting two reporters to the swirling fingernail controversy while running AP wire stories on the the actual events.

Well, the fingernail controversy is more interesting than either the men's 5,000 or 10,000 was.

green apple wrote:

Right. So what if the host country believed that white people and black people should be segregated? Should everyone just go along with that and say nothing?

"Nattering Nabob" would say yes, you should "respect the laws of your host" and say nothing.

NN sounds like a real coward.

I find it interesting this law is a recent event. Would the IAAF have even given the champs to Russia if the law was on the books back then. Also does the Swedish Federation have a fingernail color pattern rule posted somewhere? Could she have painted her nails any color but the one she chose? I certainly hope we won't boycott Sochi, but it would be awesome if multiple nations did. I'll be interested in the what private protests go on there.

green apple wrote:

Right. So what if the host country believed that white people and black people should be segregated? Should everyone just go along with that and say nothing? Or another issue?

This is hardly hypothetical, is it? S. Africa and its athletes were barred from int'l competition for decades. If nations and individual athletes wish to boycott Russia for its policies, they have every right to do so.

I'm gay. I wish I wasn't, especially with where I live. I very much wish I was straight, but I'm not. I have the choice 1. be celibate and live without a partner 2. be with someone. In Russia, I probably would be persecuted for that.

The reports I've read have indicated that the Russian law outlaws gay "propaganda," whatever that is, not homosexuality itself. So while you may be persecuted, as far as I know you wouldn't be prosecuted. As I'm sure you well know, though, you'd be persecuted in many parts of the U.S., too.

rupp-certified saladbar wrote:

Exactly. Which is why athletes shouldn't be put in the position of being required to visit countries with oppressive laws in order to DO THEIR JOBS.

Which will it be then -- career or principle? If the principle is that important to you, take a stand and stay away. Many have before. Ali, for example.

Well, the fingernail controversy is more interesting than either the men's 5,000 or 10,000 was.

I get the feeling many people, even here, think the fingernail episode is more interesting than anything that happened in the stadium. I guess that's a good gauge of where the sport stands today.