The ostrasization of Russian athletes is incredibly stupid ...

[dogtag]

The Chess federation banned the Russian champion from competing.
Why ? What does he have to do with the invasion of Ukraine ?
Now Wimbledon is banning the World's number one and others.
Other athletes have and are being subjected to this childish nonsense.
If this isn't stopped then who knows what other groups will be victimized
further down the road. Chinese athletes for threatening Taiwan ?
Iranian athletes for threatening Israel ? North Korea for threatening us.
Athletes indulge in sports not politics. Whatever their political views
are they keep to themselves which is as it should be.
The top seeded tennis players who can afford to miss a paycheck should
boycott Wimbledon. The lesser players who can't afford to boycott could
go ahead and compete - but who wants to watch nobodies ? Not me.
I'm a big tennis fan but I'll forego watching if need be.

[togor]

You're naive.

I had a girlfriend in college whose dad was a professor, actually taught a class about how sports and nationalism intersect.

Pretty popular class during the cold war, as I recall.

You like nationalism so accept that the British have their backs up when it comes to Russia and Ukraine. Unlike the pussy French, as usual.

[Johnny P]

Russia is preventing the athletes from Ukraine from participating, maybe forever.

[bruce]

About time. In fact, long past time to disqualify russian athletes. Hard to imagine that anyone would have not done exactly the same thing during that little dust up that started about 1939. Had the US just minded its own business and sank the Japanese hoped/dreams of empire, old Europe would have had to settle their on problems. Cannot imagine that the "international community" would have had various competitions and allowed "athletes" from the Axis powers to compete. Sincerely. bruce.