You are forgetting that these weren't awarded to great, upstanding nations; they were awarded to the highest bidder and/or whoever puts on the best show. Sport very rarely, if ever, promotes the kind of change people are looking for here. Hell, it took two hundred years from the African slaves coming over on ships to the new world to be allowed to use the same washroom as a white person and there are still people who think they are lesser human beings. Changes like gay marriage, hell even gay acceptance take time and will not take place because a country gets a sporting event taken away from them. Yes the IOC and FIFA are horrible human beings for awarding these events to these places, but keeping them out will only exacerbate the situations in the short term, instead of fixing them for the long term.
Define irony: People wanting to exclude other nations they don't like from a sporting envent that's purpose is to bring all people together despite their differences. When you stop and think about it every nation has done something inhumane over their history.
Right. But the point is about what these countries' goverments are doing now. I'm not holding the people accountable that much since neither Russia nor PR China nor Qatar are democracies. And anyway it is not about punishing the people or their countries, it's about not giving them the opportunity to hide their atrocities behing a pretty facade.
I think once the announcement that gays could be arrested, a lot of people who thought they would go now will not. Not as a protest but simply because their safety cannot be guaranteed. Remember you don't have to be gay to be arrested, only appear to be so, and that dictated by the mores of another culture. I don't think it will be moved (it should but I don't think it can), but I also don't think we will see all the athletes there that should be. Given the circumstances would any of you want to go right now?
Someone says "It should be like that" and you only say "But it is not like that". Everyone knows that it is not like that. We're debating here what should be done.
I think there are other ways to expose what's wrong in those countries, especially when they are under the spotlights. For exemple, TV should stop saying all the time how "those games were great and beautiful and what a great host". They can tell the truth instead, for a change. And I have still nothing to say against Qatar. It's ruled by Santa Claus.
Too late in the day to relocate the games now, but yet another mark against Russia having got the World Cup, and you could argue it isn't too late to move that! (but then given they're already going to have to monkey around with another one...
Personally I'm hoping that numerous athletes will make individual decisions to not participate. And that means lesbians, gays as well as straights.
All of the athletes and fans should wear shirts promoting equality of homosexuals. They could also all make out in public so that Russia would have to imprison ALL of them. Which they wouldn't do. Which renders the law absurd. Heck, I think the vice chancelor of Germany is gay. He should visit, and openly make out with someone.
They would get punished by the IOC and the national federations I think. eta: and very few athletes can afford simply not to participate assuming they have a chance to do well. The amount of money you can win at the Olympics (+ads afterwards) in luge or nordic combine or curling is probably higher by a factor of 10 or 100 compared to what you earn in between the Olympics...
Instead of boycotting them, the gay athletes should just pull a Jesse Owens and win. That's the ultimate way of saying that everyone's equal. Russia's not going to arrest foreign competitors at the Olympics no matter what they say or do.
I don't disagree with the thought, but unfortunately there aren't many openly gay athletes, and especially not many that are easily recognised as gay who could win (outside of male figure skating maybe). Ideally there would be a flamboyantly gay Russian who wins a gold medal, but that's probably wishful thinking.
There is no way that the Olympics could be moved at this point. I lived in Atlanta through the 1996 Olympics, and it took the city YEARS to prepare for it, building up all the infrastructure and the event locations. Even if somehow Sochi got wiped off the map tomorrow, nobody else would be able to handle hosting the Olympics. As for a boycott, that really only hurts the boycotting nations, especially their athletes, who have trained for years and may not get another chance. 1980 and 1984 proved that one. There's also a problem with the athletes themselves protesting by wearing rainbow flags or whatever - they would likely get disqualified and banned from participating in the games, since one of the IOC's rules for the athletes is that they can't display/promote/whatever any political position. If the IOC really wanted to punish Russia for their policy (and I reeeeeally doubt this would ever happen), they could ban them from participating in their own games. That would be extremely embarrassing for Russia, puts the right kind of pressure on them, and is really the only workable solution. But as I said, highly unlikely.
^Your solution is an interesting one. It embarrasses the host nation and prevents them from the prestige of having medal winners. Also hits them in the pocket book from a local interest and endorsement perspective. But I wonder how many athletes on Team Russia have any sway on national politics. It's one of those dilemmas where there's no good way to punish/protest something without adversely impacting those with nothing to do with it.
They have in the past such at the 1968 Mexico City Games. But of course they were expelled from games. But that was in part to the protest being more about a national protest (to events in the USA) rather than a protest about an International events. But the games are supposed to be non-political.
Even though I doubt it changes Russian minds (probably pushes them more into an isolationist attitude), I like this idea. It's the only feasible way the IOC can take a stand. But just wait for those protests...
I'd like them to come back to Vancouver but that's a logistical impossibility. I like the suggestion above of the gay athletes going all Jesse Owens on the Russians.