Preserve Political Neutrality of Sports! Withdraw the Political Ban on Russian and Belarusian Athletes
To whom it may concern,
I am writing on behalf of a group of figure skating fans to express our great discontent towards the recent International Skating Union (ISU) decision regarding the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in ISU competitions (the "ban").
#SupportSportNeutrality #SeparateSportsFromPolitics#ShameOnISU!
#LetRussianFigureSkatersCompeteAsNeutralAthletes
After careful examination of the IOC statement (dated 28 Feb) and ISU statement (dated 1 March), we believe the unjustified ban lacks reasonable grounds and shows insurmountable absurdity.
It is disgraceful for the IOC and ISU to madk a disgraceful decision banning all Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international and ISU competitions, as it has violated the fundamental spirit of sports.
This is a clear desecration to the sacred mission of the IOC:
"5 ... to maintain and promote its (the Olympic Movement) political neutrality and to preserve the autonomy of sport"
"11. To oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes".
The Olympic Charter, "the codification of the fundamental principles of Olympism", clearly stipulates sport must be separated from political, religious, or any other types of interference.
"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion ..."
Firstly, in July 2021, the IOC changed the Olympic motto from “Citius, Altius, Fortius", first expressed in 1881, to “Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter". From this historic change, it is clearly observable the international sports community recognizes international sports competitions are not merely about the demonstration of athletic abilities, but more importantly to unify nations, athletes, and ordinary people from different cultural backgrounds, regardless of politics, religion, sexuality, ethnicity etc. The iconic photo taken during the Beijing Winter Olympics, of aerial skiing bronze medalist Ilia Burov from Russia, embracing silver medalist Oleksandr Abramenko from Ukraine, or the mutual supporting relationship of the Ukrainian-Russian tennis duo Yuliia Zhytelna/ Ekaterina Repina, best demonstrates the unifying power of sports that transcends national boundaries. Rather than excluding athletes of certain nationality from competing, Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to compete alongside with athletes from around the world to promote international unity, to contribute towards global peace efforts.
Moreover, the ban sparks doubts whether the ISU is trying to manipulate the results of figure skating tournaments, including the upcoming World Figure Skating Championship in France in late March, through external anti-competitive practices. It is widely known that Russian athletes are often the top contenders and medalists in past figure skating tournaments. In fact, one could even say Russia nearly swept the podium by winning 3 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 2 bronze medals in last year’s World Figure Skating Championship. By depriving Russian athletes of their rightful eligibility to compete, there will be drastic changes to the podium and placements in this year's World Figure Skating Championship, which in turn affects the number of Russian entries to next year's World Figure Skating Championships. The ISU has an obligation to ensure there is fair competition between athletes from different nations, but on the contrary the ban seems to have severely undermined the principle of fair competition. One may even question whether the ban was imposed for the benefits of US and Japan athletes.
Furthermore, the ban has effectively become a political weapon. It is acceptable that different people have different political ideologies and views towards the current Ukraine situation involving Russian military action. However, for many years it has been an international consensus that sports and politics should be separated. The Olympic Charter, "the codification of the fundamental principles of Olympism", clearly stipulates sport must be separated from political, religious, or any other types of interference.
"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion ..."
Most athletes do not have an interest in international politics, but simply would like to demonstrate their passion and athletic abilities on the international stage. We firmly believe sports competitions should not be used to influence political decisions of the Russian government, as innocent athletes should not be deprived of their opportunities to compete. Only in the rarest situations sports acts as a catalyzer for improving diplomatic relationships (China's ping-pong diplomacy), but sports should never be used as a political weapon to induce conflicts.
Apart from the above, it is clear that there exists preferential treatment towards different countries. It is indisputable Russia is conducting military operations in Ukraine. Moreover, the United States and its coalition allies have also conducted thousands of military operations over the past few decades around the world, mainly in the middle east, and during those times no international sports federations banned athletes from the United States. Not even a single statement was issued by the IOC, the ISU, or other international sports federations to show solidarity with the civilians or refugees from those war-torn areas. I do not wish to discuss the merits or demerits of the military actions of Russia or the United States, as no productive discussion would come out of it. Nevertheless, this shows the ISU failed to make an unbiased decision on this matter, and it further reaffirms the growing perception that the ISU is backed by western politicians behind the scenes.
Allow us to say this once, #ShameOnISU! #SupportSportNeutrality #SeparateSportsFromPolitics
#LetRussianFigureSkatersCompeteAsNeutralAthletes
It is our strong believe that the universal ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes is an extreme act that has unquestionably desecrated the sporting spirit. We urge the ISU to reconsider and remove the universal ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, and resort to less extreme measures, i.e., allowing the concerned athletes to compete under neutral status. Should the ISU insist with its current decision, it would be remembered in history that the fairness and purity of the sport were tainted by dirty politics under the watchful eyes of the ISU. While fans do not have the direct power to influence the ISU's decision, we shall refuse to support nor watch the upcoming figure skating tournaments as the ISU has failed to ensure an impartial, fair environment for competitions. Members of the figure skating community have already started a petition on change.org to rally support for our cause. If the issue persists, we shall be forced to escalate the issue, including but not limited to a complete boycott of future ISU events by fans dedicated to the sport.
#SupportSportNeutrality #SeparateSportsFromPolitics#ShameOnISU!
#LetRussianFigureSkatersCompeteAsNeutralAthletes
This is NOT an auto-generated message. This is from a dedicated fan who just decided to speak up against injustice.