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Why the IOC should have banned Russia from Rio

The q sports panel weighs in on the IOC's controversial decision to avoid a blanket ban on Russian athletes at the upcoming Olympic games.
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Gymnasts were among the first athletes from Russia to arrive in Rio shortly after the IOC's decision not to order a blanket ban on the team over a doping scandal. (The Asahi Shimbun via Getty)
Q20:46q sports panel on the rocky lead-up to Rio 2016

The International Olympics Committee is taking heat following its decision not to enforce a complete ban on Russian athletes competing in Rio. The decision comes after a report issued by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, who found that Russia was embroiled in a state-sponsored doping scandal.

The IOC has left the decision to ban Russian athletes up to individual sporting bodies, who only have a week to test athletes before the opening ceremony at the Rio Olympics.

CBC's q sports panel discussed the IOC decision, coming to a near unanimous agreement that the IOC made the wrong choice.

The panel featured Toronto Star's Morgan Campbell, CBC Olympics Primetime host Scott Russell and The Nation's Dave Zirin.
 

'A colossal failure'
 

Russell argued that banning Russia's athletes from competing in Rio would have helped preserve the integrity of Olympic sports. 

"When you get a chance to protect the integrity of what you are all about, [and] you choose not to do it..that is to me, a colossal failure and a passing of the buck," said Russell.

"Here's an opportunity for the IOC to protect...the integrity of the movement...a movement about sport, about fair play, about inclusiveness and including those people who will perform against worthy rivals to the best of their ability."

CBC Olympics Primetime host Scott Russell joined the sports panel from a studio in Rio, where he will be reporting throughout the games. (Karen Pouliot/CBC)

Campbell added that the IOC seems more keen to avoid legal trouble. 

"No one wants accountability," he said, "You might end up banning people who may not have been taking drugs, and then they can sue ... [the IOC] would rather send the message that they don't want to be held liable."

Banning a country from the Olympics is not unprecedented. Historically, the IOC has implemented blanket bans on multiple occasions for human rights violations.

  • Germany and Japan were banned from the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England for their role in World War Two.
  • South Africa was banned in 1964 till 1992 for its apartheid regime.

The panel also weighed in on headlines from Rio this week, listing concerns about the city's Olympic facilities. 

They also touched on the possibility that track superstar Usain Bolt may have to sit out this year's games, following an injury in Jamaica

Christ the Redeemer presides over Olympic city Rio de Janeiro. (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

q's sports culture panel thinks beyond the play-by-play to weigh in on the societal impact of sports stories. Not a fan? Not a problem. Our panel watches much more than the scoreboard. 

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