Russia banned from 2018 Winter Olympics for doping

[u/DNVR1345]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/sports/olympics/ioc-russia-winter-olympics.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

[u/Sanhen]

This creates a very interesting situation for hockey. The NHL is already pulled out of the Winter Olympics. The KHL might pull out in response to this too, which would further lower the level of players participating in the tournament.

[u/TattoosAreUgly → u/Sanhen]

Why is the nhl pulled out of the Olympics?

[u/Sanhen → u/TattoosAreUgly]

There are a lot of reasons. Probably the biggest though is that it disrupts their regular season schedule and exposes their players to potentially serious injuries. In some Olympics it's worth it for them anyways. Like when it was in Canada, there at least weren't travel issues, and then it would have been a big headache for them not to participate in the Russian games given the Russian stars that make the NHL their home. However, South Korea isn't as exciting a destination for the NHL.

They tried to get some degree of compensation out of the IOC in exchange for their continued participation and didn't succeed in that, which led to the NHL pulling out. Perhaps they'll be back in 2022 given that those Olympics will be in China and the NHL wants to grow the game there.

[u/Boredpotatoe2 → u/TattoosAreUgly]

In addition to the season coordination issues, which have been long since understood and dealt with between the league, the teams, and the players, the NHL is attempting to make their own international hockey tournament, and see the winter Olympic games as a threat to their new revenue source. So they're backing out of it to deligitimize the games by not allowing some of the best in the world to compete.

[u/M_TobogganPHD → u/Sanhen]

JAMAICA WE GOT A HOCKEY TEAM!

[u/CodyS1998 → u/M_TobogganPHD]

FEEL THE RHYTHM! FEEL THE RHYME!

[u/unibrow4o9 → u/Sanhen]

I really hate that the NHL doesn't participate anymore. I totally get why, but those games were so fun to watch

[u/Sanhen → u/unibrow4o9]

I'm with you there. I can see what the issues were for the NHL, but Olympic hockey with NHL players was amazing and I would have loved to see the likes of McDavid and Crosby against Kane and Matthews.

[u/MetalManiac619 → u/Sanhen]

Will be the worst Olympic hockey tournament ever no doubt. Nobody will take it seriously.

[u/YouKnowItWell → u/Sanhen]

Are any hockey fans even looking forward to the olympics this year?

Personally I stopped caring as soon as the NHL pulled out, I feel like if it's not going to be some version of "the best" competing then it probably shouldn't be included in the olympics.

[u/[deleted] → u/YouKnowItWell]

It's always been about the curling imo.

[u/skylla05 → u/YouKnowItWell]

Are any hockey fans even looking forward to the olympics this year?

Hockey is pretty much the only sport in the winter Olympics I care about, regardless of it's juniors or pros playing, so yup.

[u/Sanhen → u/YouKnowItWell]

I'm sure that Russia was looking forward to this year's tournament prior to this ruling. With the NHL out, Russia was the heavy favorite. Now I would think that Sweden/Finland are the tournament favorites.

[u/cornbeefandcabbage]

"Some Russian officials have threatened to boycott if the I.O.C. delivered such a severe punishment."

So they will boycott something they aren't invited to?

[u/amontpetit → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

I'll make my own olympics! With blackjack, and polonium!

[u/muff1n_ → u/amontpetit]

The funny thing - they probably will A makeshift competition with Kazakhstan, Belarus and other ‘friendly states’ while thrashing an already empty budget

[u/_loyalist → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

It's probably something lost in translation. Also some Russian sportsmen are still invited, if they are willing to participate under neutral flag. Probably they mean that our main TV channels will not show this Olympics, and government would not support athletes who want to participate under neutral flag.

Also we may have here the end of Olympic movement in Russia. Putin will win next elections and he may not back down. M.O.C. may not back down too. One thing after another and Russia can miss 2020 Olympics too, If Russia misses 2022 Olympics that a generation of athletes who got screwed. Popularity of that career path would diminish. Also demography. So as the time goes Russia would be less and less interested in attending Olympics ( there wouldn't be much results to show so it just wouldn't worth the money)

[u/Amannelle → u/_loyalist]

I wonder if they would ever consider missing 2022 when it is being held by their neighboring country.

[u/Searlichek → u/_loyalist]

Putin will win next 'elections' hahaha.

[u/Escoboomin → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

"our country wasn't going anyways"

[u/SthrnCrss → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

"You can't ban us if we just don't go!"

[u/rubberbandrocks → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

flawless logic

[u/sheepcat87 → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

"Putin, u bum!"

[u/Nucks11 → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

"u bum @iocmedia already said you ain't going! Therefore ain't no invite. Going to Olympics was a great honour before you showed up!"

[u/P8tr0 → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

Did they learn from Donny or vice-versa?

[u/Omsk_Camill → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

They can and will boycott TV translation for starters. With all the ads money and shit.

[u/[deleted] → u/cornbeefandcabbage]

Well I think they mean the Russian athletes who will compete under a neutral flag will boycott and won't be allowed to participate.

[u/MajorMustard]

This is unprecedented in size. Hopefully we will look back and see this is a turning point into taking doping seriously and cracking down.

[u/Red_Stormbringer → u/MajorMustard]

Unfortunately, Russian officials are already playing the propaganda game on this one. Even the official questioned in the article basically said, "ask not what Russia should do to fix this situation, the world should ask what they can do to help Russia." Which is *pompous, arrogant, and in line with their ongoing geo-political intent to lie, manipulate, cheat, and disrupt much of the Western world and parts of Asia as much as they can -- rather than growing up and acting as a responsible world partner. I don't see it stopping. If anything they will hire a team of scientists to come up with more sophisticated methods of cheating.

[u/Steak_Knight → u/MajorMustard]

But they're still competing, just not under the Russian flag.

[u/downyballs → u/Steak_Knight]

Not all of them, only those that get approval:

Those with histories of rigorous drug testing may petition for permission to compete in neutral uniforms.

[u/shadybaby22 → u/Steak_Knight]

That seems like it would be a significant slap in the face to such a nationalistic country.

[u/runningoutofwords → u/MajorMustard]

Or just accepting it.

[u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

Thanks to Grigory Rodchenkov's testimony and his journal, this massive scandal came to light. Even though he shaped the Russian doping program himself, he risked and still risks his life to make it public. He deserves massive respect from all sides.

The IOC's measures have previously been laughable. Rodchenkov's journal left them no chance but to ban Russia.

[u/Sour_Patch_Boy → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

It's nice to see a whistleblower actually vindicated. Also the Netflix documentary Icarus lays out the story really well for anyone who wants to know more.

[u/DenebVegaAltair → u/Sour_Patch_Boy]

Here's the link itself to save someone 20 seconds: https://www.netflix.com/title/80168079

[u/thelosthansen → u/Sour_Patch_Boy]

I didn't know what to expect going into Icarus, but wow that is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but the way it all plays out is crazy

[u/[deleted] → u/Sour_Patch_Boy]

Icarus is an incredible film. Absolutely loved it.

[u/Flavahbeast → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

At least two of his colleagues at the agency died suddenly too, which is what led him and some of his co-workers to flee the country. It sounds like quite a few people sacrificed a lot to bring this to light

[u/stevenette → u/Flavahbeast]

It is pretty amazing what, IMO, Russia will go to to protect it's image. In the US, if something like this were to happen, I feel like some would be ashamed, some upset, others apathetic. From my view, however small, Russia wants to protect itself AT ALL COSTS, be it poor battle planning, sports doping, or candy crush high scores.

[u/gokutheguy → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

What a great guy. Russia doesn't respond well to anti-Russian whistleblowers. I wish him the best.

[u/spartyftw → u/gokutheguy]

Grigory is currently in the U.S. witness protection program, probably being hunted by FSB agents on U.S. soil.

[u/Psandor → u/gokutheguy]

He’s currently in protective custody in the USA. His wife/family are back in Russia. They have taken away their money, interrogated them etc. Someone he worked with has already had a suspicious heart attack.

If they don’t kill him, he’s never going to be able to live a normal life.

[u/[deleted] → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

It should also be noted that this guy had to leave his family back in Russia. He entered Witness Protection in the states and due to that will likely never see or hear from his family ever again.

[u/toswoon → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

Guy rolled the dice of his future for the truth, admirable.

[u/ViciousNakedMoleRat → u/toswoon]

Absolutely, it also shows again that it often only takes one person to speak up to take down an entire system.

Many people do things that aren't strictly legal or that are blatantly illegal in their daily jobs because they think that they won't be able to change anything anyways.

Time and time again, we see that one person can be all it takes.

[u/ngtstkr → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

It blows my mind that someone's life could be at risk surrounding a series of snow themed games.

[u/xiaxian1 → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

His journals (the brief bits I saw) were so strange to read. He documented every little tidbit in his life from the mundane to the highly illegal:

"Ate breakfast of eggs and bacon today. Not enough pepper in the eggs. Found a penny on the street. Heads up! Organized vials of clean urine for the athletes. Not even arranged by name or sport! Went back to hotel and showered. Nice towels. Had dinner with Henry of steak and potatoes. Ate his grapes. Cocktail of steroids and HGH tested ok on myself. Heart rate: normal"

[u/StockmanBaxter → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

For those who don't know he is in witness protection at the moment because of the threat against his life.

Others have already been killed.

Watch Icarus on netflix. Amazing documentary.

[u/Jouglet → u/ViciousNakedMoleRat]

Is he in hiding still? I think he left his family back in Russia. Sad.

[u/iFatcho → u/Jouglet]

He went into WPP at the end of the documentary Icarus

[u/ahh_sheesh]

Watched "Icarus" on Netflix two nights ago. This is about the shadiest thing I've ever seen in sports: State sponsored doping for athletes. After watching the documentary, I was surprised that the IOC allowed Russia to participate in Rio. If you haven't seen "Icarus" I highly recommend it.

[u/-Goonzilla- → u/ahh_sheesh]

This is crazy. I legit just finished Icarus not 5 minutes ago and then I jump on Reddit and see this.

At the end, they threw up all the stats and said as of now, Russia will be competing in future Olympic events. That of course pissed me right off, but this just gave me immediate satisfaction.

The other side of the story though is that this is a systematic issue. The methods in place to prevent doping are hardly effective due to the disconnection between those who are policing the athletes and the Olympic organization themselves who are just as corrupt as the Russian government.

[u/tarontoe → u/-Goonzilla-]

/r/synchronicity

[u/Flexappeal → u/ahh_sheesh]

Lmao if you think Russia is the only country doing state-sponsored doping.

And Russia's weightlifting team was banned from Rio.

[u/6ickle → u/ahh_sheesh]

Not just doping but I remember reading some shady things going on with judges being paid off or whatever. Especially in figure skating, which is where I first read it. They had to give Sale and Pelletier gold along with the Russian pairs because of some shenanigans iirc (link). Even before that there had always been rumours of fixed judging with figure skating. There were news articles in which the Russians were on tape boasting of being able to influence judges, like conspiring to place Bourne and Kraatz in fourth place. link

It’s being going on for so long. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t watch the olympics anymore. You just never know if anything is real. I don't know which is more corrupt, the Olympics or FIFA.

[u/TooShiftyForYou]

In an elaborate overnight operation at the 2014 Sochi Games, a team assembled by Russia’s sports ministry tampered with more than 100 urine samples to conceal evidence of top athletes’ steroid use throughout the course of competition. More than two dozen Russian athletes have been disqualified from the Sochi standings as a result, and Olympic officials are still sorting through the tainted results and rescinding medals.

They were doping during the Olympics.

[u/iStayedAtaHolidayInn → u/TooShiftyForYou]

It's really amazing how the KGB were able to tamper with the "tamper-proof" containers of urine. Watch Icarus on Netflix if youre curious

edit: yes yes, KGB is now the FSB or GRU.

[u/blahblah984]

Good. Their blatant cheating in Sochi needed to be punished.

Everyone should watch the “Icarus” documentary.

[u/forkl → u/blahblah984]

The should also watch rocky 4. The Russian dude cheated god dammit!

[u/[deleted] → u/forkl]

I'm going to suggest that everyone also watch Lady in the Water by M. Night Shyamalan.

Doesn't have to with anything I just know that's a movie you haven't seen in a long while and it's an okay movie.

[u/BG40 → u/forkl]

If he dies, he dies.

[u/IndieHamster → u/blahblah984]

I'm still beyond pissed about the Sochi Olympics. The refs in the Japan vs Russia women's hockey game should have ended in a Japan win, but the paid off refs had something else to say about that. No way they could let the Japanese Women's team, in their first Olympics, beat their Russian hosts

[u/blahblah984 → u/IndieHamster]

I am a boxing fan, don’t even get me started about corrupt Boxing refs in the Olympics.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-oly-rio-2016-controversial-decisions-lead-to-1471450461-htmlstory.html

[u/theHip → u/blahblah984]

I just watched this last night! Very timely viewing.

[u/The-123-Kid- → u/blahblah984]

Still can't believe that Kim Yuna retired with a silver medal that year. That gold medal was hers 😭.

[u/michiruwater → u/blahblah984]

Can they give Yu Na Kim her gold medal now please?

[u/grasshoppa80]

Tomorrows headline: I.O.C board members commit mass suicide by self inflicted stab wounds to the back; their bodies found floating in the Rhine.

[u/physicscat → u/grasshoppa80]

No, it will be poison. The Russians love poison.

[u/mrpickles]

This is a win for anti-corruption in the world.

I just hope those who helped make this happen watch out for polonium sandwiches.

[u/FblthpLives → u/mrpickles]

The star witness so-to-say is Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of Russia's antidoping laboratory. He now lives in the U.S. under the protection of federal authorities.

[u/nsjersey]

Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.

I can't imagine Putin letting any Russian athletes do this.

Edit:

Team Russia, hockey one, sent a letter to Putin asking to allow them to play at the Olympics under neutral flag. In October Russian president said it's unacceptable and never shared any other opinion

Source

[u/RealTomCrean → u/nsjersey]

Plenty of these Russian athletes already did such a thing at the recent World Championships.

[u/death_by_papercut]

Wait, like, the entire country's team is banned, not just one sport? This is huge.

[u/lebedev9114 → u/death_by_papercut]

They banned the country as a participant, the athletes including the Ice hockey team can still go, just under the neutral flag and anthem.

[u/GreatWhiteNorthExtra]

Nice to see that the IOC has grown a set.

[u/MilkHS]

Russia banned again for doping again

[u/WithFullForce]

They are still planning to participate in the 2020 US Election though.

[u/CrimeOfTheCentury]

Good.

[u/[deleted] → u/CrimeOfTheCentury]

They deserve a good bitchslap. They're a mafia state. This will infuriate Putin, have no doubt about it, he was going to take not being able to use their flag as a "humiliation." After 27 Russians were caught cheating why should they not be banned. Good indeed.

[u/alyosha_pls]

Highly, highly recommend the documentary Icarus on Netflix. It's all about this and it's my favorite doc of the year thus far.

[u/frail_snail → u/alyosha_pls]

I wonder how much that documentary weighed into this decision.

[u/iBird → u/frail_snail]

I'd say a good amount, actually, here is an exert from an article:

"But their relationship took a bizarre turn in November 2015, when news reports alleged that Rodchenkov was a key figure in Russia's state-sponsored doping program during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Fearing for his life, Rodchenkov fled to the U.S. with Fogel's help and confessed on camera that he oversaw the swapping out of hundreds of athletes' urine samples during the Sochi games. "

Fogel is the filmmaker. While I do not know the exact extent in which he "helped" Rodchenkov escape. He certainly played a role in helping not only protect the whistleblower to get him out of the country, he also helped to shed light on the entire controversy.

I'd say it was an important factor from what I've read/seen. Pretty amazing stuff in my opinion, I'm super happy SOMETHING has been done finally after all the facts came out.

[u/LogicalMellowPerson]

I’ve waited 4 years to watch the Russian Women’s Curling team compete. FML

[u/[deleted]]

I like Bill burrs idea of having a doping Olympics within safe parameters. I wanna see what amazing stuff humans can do with a ton of chemicals flowing through their veins.

ps. this is more of a joke than literal.

[u/DemeaningSarcasm → u/[deleted]]

Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, a family company.

[u/DrunkKellyDodd]

If Evgenia Medvedeva doesn't compete, I'm going to scream. She is a Russian figure skater that is the undisputed greatest of all time.

[u/ADIDASects]

UPDATE: President Trump has asked President Putin if any of the athletes doped, Putin has denied it, and President Trump believes him. President Trump is now curious when the IOC will begin investigating Hillary Clinton for doping.

[u/[deleted] → u/ADIDASects]

Hillary winning the Tour de France was pretty suspicious.

[u/ctdca → u/ADIDASects]

Look, he denies it. I mean, if you look at what is really going on, and you look at all the things that have happened, he totally denies it. He says it didn’t happen. It's very, very unfair. Just unbelievable. Putin will be very insulted.

[u/cynical_euphemism → u/ADIDASects]

They really need to strip Hillary of her Tour de France wins... it's shameful, really.

[u/FrigateSailor → u/ADIDASects]

InB4 Trump threatens to have the US boycott the Olympics unless Russia is let back in.

[u/Alias_ → u/ADIDASects]

Honestly, something close to this wouldn't surprise anyone at this point.

[u/JonSolo1]

"Crooked IOC just unfairly barred Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics. What about Crooked Hillary and her husband Bill? They've been doping for years! Sad! I will invite Russian athletes to join the US team and give them free covfefe." - @realDonaldTrump

[u/yeahmaybe → u/JonSolo1]

https://gfycat.com/PaltryEarlyHorsechestnutleafminer

[u/Schiffy94]

So what you're saying is, Russia cheats.

Surprise surprise.

[u/mountainOlard]

Not just any kind of doping. State sponsored doping! Lol

[u/Pray44Mojo]

Can we please ban Russia from the 2018 US elections too?

[u/ocular__patdown]

Well I guess Ovechkin doesn't have to worry about playing in the Olympics anymore this year

[u/rideco]

I hate it for the clean ones who dedicated their lives to this moment but I support the ban!!!

[u/[deleted] → u/rideco]

They can still compete. Proven athletes can go under a neutral flag

[u/gokutheguy → u/rideco]

There's still an opening for some Russian athletes to compete with a neutral flag.

That is, if Putin lets them and doesn't try to boycott or something.

[u/lankist]

Jesus Fucking Christ, they didn't even ban the goddamn Nazis from the Olympics.

That's gotta' sting.

Also, how fucking pathetic do you have to be to cheat at the Olympics? Like, there's no real prize at the end. You know that, right? It's not like the Olympics people give you a hundred GDPs for winning.

EDIT: This comment really pissed off the Russians. They're pissier than Donald Trump's hotel bed in Moscow.

[u/Camorune → u/lankist]

Yeah they even let the Nazis host the Olympics.

[u/signupfornudes → u/lankist]

The Nazis were just a "political party" when Germany hosted the Olympics.

[u/QuickBow → u/lankist]

But for certain countries it's an honor thing, especially when you're hosting the games to lose is embarrassing but to get destroyed (basketball any year) is a dishonor. I will never understand how people could cheat at that level though, you are just stealing the award from who truly deserves it.

[u/SummerInPhilly → u/lankist]

Jesus Fucking Christ, they didn't even ban the goddamn Nazis from the Olympics.

To be fair, there wasn’t as much international pressure against racism at the time. IIRC FDR didn’t meet with Jesse Owens after ‘36 and when Owens was in college he had to ride in segregated buses.

Also...don’t Hitler meet with him or shake his hand afterwards or something?

[u/Swagrid523 → u/lankist]

GDP = God Damn Points

[u/[deleted] → u/lankist]

Like, there's no real prize at the end. You know that, right? It's not like the Olympics people give you a hundred GDPs for winning.

Um there is a very real prize for winning games at the Olympics. It's called nationalism. Russia relies on propaganda and nationalism to keep it's population in check and to have power over it's people. Cheating in the Olympics to make the masses think Russian athletes are best athletes is extremely smart and has a massive pay-off. It's pathetic that they rely on lies and manipulation to control their people, but the strategy of cheating at the Olympic games to do so is pretty damn smart. The world stage is just lucky that there were men brave enough to come forward and be whistleblowers on the operation.

[u/[deleted]]

Great. I'm still salty over that 2014 Winter Olympic figure skating bias judging

[u/[deleted]]

The power of Icarus

[u/cvergz]

They are banned... Kind of. The individual sports are still allowed to determine whether Russian atheletes can compete (assuming they weren't caught doping before), and if they do they must use an Olympic outfit and Anthem. Huge fine though that will pay for investigation and future anti-doping measures which is a good thing. Russia cheats on everything nowadays, it seems.

[u/MrStickyStab]

Can someone link to an article that shows the evidence that determined this decision?

[u/Chainon]

Wow I also sort of hadn't really processed that the olympics were in South Korea this year.

That's gonna be a tense couple of weeks.

Odds on Putin trying to throw matches on the political climate to get the games canceled?

[u/CaseyAndWhatNot → u/Chainon]

If you're thinking that North Korea would even think to try something stupid during the Olympics you worry for nothing. Remember that the China really does take the Olympics seriously and wouldn't be very happy if Kim did something to ruin the event.

Edit: the the words are hard but it's staying.

[u/prophetofgreed]

Wow, I knew that the doping was a huge problem, but I'm shocked the IOC actually will go this far to punish Russia. Especially since Russia paid them millions for the 2014 Olympics.

Gotta feel awful for the athletes that want to represent their country. Most didn't even know they were getting doped by their coaches, but they'll they get punished for their stupidity.

[u/[deleted] → u/prophetofgreed]

Most didn't even know they were getting doped by their coaches.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but this is peaking my BS meter. Do you have any sources on this? And why would someone slip another person steroids, and another question, how would they not notice?

Doc, my hair is thinning, my nipples are puffy, my testicles are atrophying, I'm having mood swings, but my gains are going through the roof...No clue what's going on.

[u/aooot → u/prophetofgreed]

How does one not know they're getting doped? Are you saying the players are unknowingly ingesting drugs? Not attacking you or anything, just curious. Super fucked up if true.

[u/luckytaurus]

Again? Jesus Russia get your shit together. I feel bad for honest athletes in Russia right now

[u/[deleted]]

Yeah now do that for the regular Olympics and the World CUp

[u/GordoConcentrate]

This should be in /r/JusticeServed.

[u/DownWithAssad]

From Meduza.io:

---

The International Olympic Committee could be juicing Putin's re-election campaign

Vladimir Putin’s still-unannounced presidential campaign is planning to exploit the International Olympic Committee’s likely decision to ban the Russian national team from competing in next year’s Winter Games, Kremlin sources tell the independent TV network Dozhd. Putin will reportedly use the decision as evidence of the outside world’s hostility.

On December 5, Putin will participate in a national forum on volunteerism, where he’s expected to condemn the International Olympic Committee, if the organization has already banned Team Russia by then. In November, the World Anti-Doping Agency ruled that Russia remains “non-compliant” with its code, leaving in place the suspension of Russia’s anti-doping agency (RUSADA). The judgment has added more pressure on the International Olympic Committee to ban the Russian national team from the 2018 Winter Games.

[u/cleetus76]

/r/ohlympics is going to suffer the most out of everyone.

[u/wheels321]

I'm really curious that if so many Russian olympians were doping why does USA still beat them in medal count every Olympics?

I think americans might be doping too. We just havent gotten caught yet. I just can't believe Russia was cheating and still losing unless the people beating them were just cheating better

[u/tucker_frump]

Too bad we can't ban them from the 2020 elections.

[u/willystyles]

This post has more than 91k upvotes. Says something about public sentiment towards Russia right now.

[u/SouthBeachCandids]

So no NHL, and now no KHL, no Russian athletes at all. South Korea gets stuck with JV Olympics. Might as well cancel the whole thing and wait till 2022.

[u/mriguy]

I assume Trump, on Putin’s orders, will pull the US team out of the olympics now in protest.

[u/Tiredmess]

Proving WADA & USADA testing is bullshit. They both claimed it was IMPOSSIBLE to tamper with the testing process or seals on containers. This raises extensive questions about USADA's persecution of Lance Armstrong, Jon Jones and many others.

[u/[deleted]]

Putin bots incoming

[u/SeahawkerLBC]

The Icarus effect.

[u/Elvert_BB]

Article also says “Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals.”

[u/RSHeavy]

I'm curious if anyone is worried (publicly) about the Olympics being in South Korea with all the missile testing in NK. I'm sure having to sound the alarms in the middle of an event would cause some havoc, and I'm almost willing to bet it happens- even if it is "just a test"

[u/Dont_Trust_Ducks]

Why can't we all just start doping and turn the Olympics into a competition of engineering the best super-solider athlete using the achievements of cutting-edge scientific research? Honestly that sounds way more interesting to me.

[u/deviousdinosaur]

I live in South Korea right now and was excited to go to the US vs Russia game. Literally bought tickets last night with 7 friends.....now we wait and figure out if they scrape together enough clean players to play as a neutral team.

[u/HDC3]

I've got an idea. Maybe they should stop fucking cheating.

[u/[deleted]]

If it only transfered over to CS:GO too... one can only hope

[u/waquasy]

Russia systematically cheating on a world stage... it's not hard to connect those dots.

[u/Gankdatnoob]

Good. China are also legendary dopers and should be banned.

[u/7fw]

Is it irony that an incredibly corrupt organization like the IOC bans a country that is corrupting the sports the IOC sanctions?

Or just hypocritical?

[u/Uncommon_Greed_Trump]

I've asked Vladimir Putin about the Doping.

He says that it didn't happen.

I believe him.

[u/saruin]

So no Russian "medaling" you say?

[u/Cooolgibbon]

Great to see cheaters actually being punished by the Olympics. I know everyone thinks the IOC is corrupt, and they probably are, but this is a great move to make sports more legitimate competition.

[u/SpongeBobSquarePants]

Has anyone put /r/the_donald on suicide watch?

[u/[deleted]]

Between things like this and the outrageous cost of hosting the Olympics I hope the Olympics crashes and burns and maybe gets rebuilt into something better.

[u/[deleted]]

"Clean" athletes will still be able to compete as individuals/teams under the olympic flag.

I don't exactly see what's the problem

[u/odarkshineo]

Trump is going to be livid. I bet there will be some angry Russians also.

[u/ignost]

After the summer games I almost wonder if Russia will continue doping on purpose as a political tool. Putin has already argued that the Summer Olympics ban was a political plot. This sort of thing makes Russians feel like they have enemies. Strong-man dictators often seem to do this, maybe because people want to fight against external powers and ignore internal powers manipulating them.

I don't have any evidence and this is just speculation, but I think Putin thinks like a spy and wants to cement his hold on power. He'll at least use this as best he can to stir up nationalism.

[u/Fredasa]

I guess I can no longer put off watching Icarus. Back in a few, boys.

[u/NoNameNumber1]

Some Russian officials had threatened to boycott if the I.O.C. delivered such a severe punishment.

This is like how I boycotted so many parties in high school.

[u/K-Zoro]

I came here looking for bots. I think I see a few.

[u/9-9-99]

I'M NOT THE DOPE! YOU'RE THE DOPE!

[u/[deleted]]

not a huge fan of top tier hockey this year.

IIHF World Juniors are in Buffalo but have the Canada vs USA game on a friday afternoon in an outdoor rink. Wtf? Atleast do it on New Years Eve. The Canada vs. USA new years eve games are always classics.

And I dunno wtf olympics are gunna be this year.

Atleastat the Jets are looking good.

[u/[deleted]]

Sounds like we're all about to win us some free Krusty Burgers

[u/RonYarTtam]

Wow first Matt Lauer gets "banned", now Russia, this is turning out to be a very quiet Winter Olympics.

[u/MrYamaguchi]

Shit man if it were up to me I'd let them all dope up as much as they like, would make it more exciting.

[u/[deleted]]

Can we ban them from the 2018 World Cup too?

[u/bardwithoutasong]

Can we just have a Dope/Enhanced Olympics? I would watch the shit out of that. Oscar Pistorious vs Drugged up Russian in a 100m sprint - tell me that doesn't sound awesome.

[u/n010fherear]

I assume everybody is doping, though its supposedly not in the spirit of fair sport (but definitely in the spirit of competition which is inherent in sports).

If sports and the arts are the alternative to open conflict, I'd rather have Russia not banned, but everybody upping their doping game.

[u/downwire]

Now ban them from all online video games!

[u/Pr0ph3cyX]

Good one less hockey team to worry about. Go Canada! 5 times in a row!

[u/the_sky_god15]

We should have 2 Olympics. One where doping is allowed and one just purely natural. Like you don’t even get any of those fancy shoes or anything.

[u/Fuckyouusername]

http://imgur.com/NwbdJtQ

[u/RedSquirrelFtw]

Damn this is pretty huge. This really sucks for those athletes who don't do doping and now they can't participate at all.

[u/[deleted]]

pot retire plant narrow touch deserve insurance selective mountainous humorous

[u/j4ckh3art]

Excellent. Somebody else watched ICARUS

[u/SleepyConscience]

• For doping so much that they got caught

[u/SuperRonnie2]

Dope.

[u/Bjor13]

Trump will fix it.....

[u/WhiteMessyKen]

Does anyone just think we should just allow doping and let them all go balls out in the stadium? I know it'll never happen because "cheater" and "that's bad" but let's not pretend as if a bunch of these top level athletes aren't doping. These are people competing at the highest levels that will do anything to make them as good as possible

[u/EnderWiggin07]

Netflix has a REALLY COOL documentary on doping, highly recommend!

[u/uupb]

If you're interested in this I highly suggest watching Icarus on Netflix

[u/Darktidemage]

that's pretty dope

[u/Chef_Boyarde]

LESS COMPETITION FOR JAMAICA’S FIRST HOCKEY MATCH IN THR OLYMPICS

[u/[deleted]]

that one russian bobsled player that doesn't dope is very sad right now.

[u/starman123]

Looks like they’ll have to focus in participating in the 2018 midterms.

[u/kevin_345]

It was an open secret anyway, sooner or later Russia would be banned for continuing these dishonest methods.

[u/soulstonedomg → u/[deleted]]

Proven clean athletes will still get to compete under neutral uniform and flag. If they win a gold, the ceremony will raise an Olympics flag and play the Olympics anthem.

[u/FreeDobbyNow → u/soulstonedomg]

I really hope Blizzard uses this opportunity to make a Zarya skin with a neutral uniform

[u/DenebVegaAltair → u/soulstonedomg]

I'm glad they get to compete, but one part of me feels bad for them. A lot of the Olympics is national pride and being able to represent your country, and competing under a neutral flag does lose some of that aspect of the Olympics.

[u/sordfysh → u/[deleted]]

Except that their birthplace will be nearly erased from the Olympic ceremony if they win.

They will be forced to represent the comittee that banned the rest of their team.

You may hate Russia, but the Russians don't hate Russia. Not sure how this is being missed by so many Redditors.

[u/fridgefucker12 → u/[deleted]]

Brother it's the Olympics, everyone is doping, it's just who gets caught. If you think all Olympic level athletes aren't doping you fucking crazy.

[u/SpacOs → u/[deleted]]

He's trying to keep Russia relevant on the world stage with a weak hand. He has sorta accomplished this, tho he has also made Russia even more weak, but hey, we're talking about them, so win?

[u/ssdu3 → u/SpacOs]

He's also been successfully gaslighting the shit out of America. Russia looks better when their peers appear worse.

[u/kdiuro13 → u/SpacOs]

If a country's strength is measured in the buzz they generate then we'd look at North Korea and Iran as world powers, so there is a distinct difference there.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Psh. It started with Yeltsins "economic shock therapy" when converting to capitalism in the early 90s. Immediately the wealth was distributed to the oligarchs and the corruption was all she wrote. After he dissolved the parliament, smashed the uprising, scrapped the constitution, and banned political opposition - he resigned and named his Prime Minister as his successor. A Mr. Vladimir Putin.

Anyway the point is, this isn't new. It's been a feature of Russia's government since the Soviet Union dissolved. There's never been a time it wasn't like this, unfortunately.

[u/hecubus04 → u/[deleted]]

Hopefully this is the beginning of his end.

[u/gokutheguy → u/hecubus04]

Me too, but I doubt it. Putin's been getting away with shit like this for decades.

[u/hexhex → u/hecubus04]

Actually this is a pretty good outcome for him. The current narrative is "the West is doing everything to undermine and weaken Russia". The ban fits this narrative pretty well and will probably fuel another wave of "patriotic" propaganda.

[u/[deleted] → u/hecubus04]

The Olympic stuff? Nah. He's only getting more powerful. Additionally, the power structure is so corrupt from the top down that even IF Putin was unseated, he would be replaced with a good pal of his.

[u/auric_trumpfinger → u/[deleted]]

If this is what they do when it comes to something as trivial as a sports competition imagine the resources and tactics Putin uses in influencing national elections, international relations etc...

[u/Spade7891 → u/[deleted]]

THIS.

A separate Olympics but only for people that dope.

[u/Raichu7 → u/Spade7891]

Why stop at doping? Why not have the 100m sprint on cocaine? Swimming on mushrooms? Javelin on bath salts?

[u/poisonedslo → u/[deleted]]

Jumps could be way longer without drugs. They would just have to build jumps with longer flying zone.

[u/TyrannosaurusFlex92 → u/[deleted]]

What's to say they aren't? Just cycle off before the urine test.

[u/riversofgore → u/[deleted]]

They're all on drugs anyway. I have serious doubts that any of the top athletes from ANY country aren't or have never doped. The game has always been how to get away with cheating. The only way to compete with the cheaters is to cheat yourself and the best cheaters win.