Olympic Boycott: Good Idea, But a Horrible One

I wrote earlier about a possible Olympic boycott. Calls for a boycott have been growing louder ever since the Russian government passed a law that does not allow anyone to discuss homosexuality to minors or hold Pride parades. British comedian Stephen Fry and George Takei have joined calls to move the Olympics out of Russia or boycott the games.

There are severe problems with that.

Fry's invocation of Godwin's Law aside, there's the fact that the Games are 6 months away. It takes years to get ready for the Olympics, and as it's been shown, sometimes there are questions as to whether to venues are even ready. And Vancouver might not even want the Games again. You can't just build these venues overnight and have all these volunteers just pop up one week before the event. It takes a lot of time and effort, which Vancouver does not have.

There's also the fact that homophobia is so deeply entrenched in Russian society that a boycott might not change a thing. In fact, as one Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist pointed out, a boycott might make things worse. LGBT Russians could potentially be blamed for the failure or loss of the Games. I know that the people who are calling for boycotts do care about LGBT rights, but this could be an unintended consequence.

In fact, as I also pointed out, it's the people who show up and do protest that make the headlines. No one even remembers who won gold in soccer at the 1968 Olympics, they only remember John Carlos and Tommie Smith raising their black-gloved fists in protest of the treatment of African-Americans in the United States. Johnny Weir being his usual flamboyant self and wearing a pride pin would essentially be the LGBT equivalent.

And of course, there's also the fact that boycotts don't work and would punish the wrong people. The US boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet invasion of Afghantistan. The Soviets didn't leave until 1989 and they and Eastern Bloc countries boycotted in '84 as payback. In the 1980 Games, American athletes who'd been training their whole lives for that one moment had it taken away in an instant. Some athletes did not get another chance at the Games.

And also, it's Vladimir Putin we're talking about. The man is shameless and doesn't care about how the world sees him. You think a boycott is gonna stop him? You must be mistaken. The best thing to do is to go over there and beat him. I want to see Patrick Kane and the US hockey team beat the Russian team on their own ice. A boycott will dash those dreams.

These folks advocating for a boycott or moving the games have their hearts in the right places, but are horribly mistaken when it comes to the realities of the situation. The best option is that the IOC do something to protect LGBT athletes, fans and officials. These people throwing around boycott like it's a football need to see the realities of the situation.

Let the Games go on.