Sanctions and positions are cascading in the world of sport, six days after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Among the most resounding, the recommendation, Monday, February 28, of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the federations not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in their competitions. This position can change the vision of the links between sport and politics, according to the historian of sport and Olympism, also founder of the National Sports Museum, Jean Durry.
Franceinfo: sport: Is such a position a first in the history of the IOC?
John Durry: Only one precedent comes to mind: it is the suspension, the temporary exclusion of South Africa at the time of apartheid, in 1962. It returned to Barcelona, in 1992, with the presence of Nelson Mandela in the stands. Otherwise, there have not really been any other political positions taken by the IOC.
The Olympic Games are linked from the outset to the concept of peace. When Pierre de Coubertin launched the Games, he wanted above all to internationalize the sport. His idea is for athletes to meet and get to know each other. This will not necessarily make peace between the peoples, but they will at least get to know each other.
At the time, Coubertin was very close to those campaigning for peace in the world, in particular Frédéric Passy and Henry Dunant (founder of the Red Cross), the first two Nobel Peace Prize winners in 1901. This anchors the roots of the IOC and the Games in the idea of peace, which is mentioned in the Olympic Charter.
What explains this position taken by the IOC today in this crisis?
Sport has become a global element of human society. Thus, the bubble in which sport was locked, under the pretext of apoliticism, is completely burst.
“Sport is no longer a world apart, separated from life”
Jean Durry, historianat franceinfo: sport
Sport is drawn into this unanimous momentum, especially on the side of Western countries, faced with the situation. It changes the way of speaking out, of taking sides, for sports leaders. For the IOC and the authorities, this is an eminently political position.
The IOC has already ruled in the Peng Shuai case recently. In reality, sport has always been a domain of the political world, but until recently, leaders used this principled apoliticism to keep their voices in check.
Could this mark a turning point in the IOC’s displayed neutrality? Can we imagine demonstrations and political messages at the Games, for example in Paris, in two years?
This will mark a turning point for the authorities, it is obvious. For athletes, the IOC has a clear policy, during the Games and in the Olympic arenas: athletes must not take a stand or demonstrate. This is the position that was taken in Beijing. We are not yet in 2024, things could happen between now and then, but we can imagine that it will be the same principle.
IOC Executive Board recommends no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officialshttps://t.co/XZyLIi11XR
—IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) February 28, 2022
Now we see that athletes themselves are increasingly taking the initiative to speak out, with the example of Kaepernick kneeling in protest at Trump’s actions. Since then, there have often been positions taken by athletes in a very committed way. It is their individual freedom, and they are using it more and more. But it is very difficult to say where the world will be in 2024.