The Other Side of the Olympic Boycott Debate

From previous posts it is obvious that I have very strong feelings - rage might be an apt description - over what is happening to gays in Russia. Horrible things being done to innocent gays, many very young, all because of political opportunists like Vladimir Putin and religious zealots such as the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church.  Given how much Putin has invested in the 2014 Sochi Games, to see them be an abject failure would in many ways be wonderful - and deserved at least so far as the Russians go.  But what of the young athletes, many of whom have been training for years for this goal, often with their families investing huge amounts in their careers (my oldest daughter figure skated competitively for a while, so I have a sense of the cost involved)?  Over the weekend at the United States Figure Skating Association nationals an amazing young skater, Jason Brown, put on an amazing performance - watch the video above - and put this other side of the argument in better focus.  Out Sports puts some of the argument into words:

We at Outsports knew the calls for an Olympic boycott were never going to take hold. It was always the wrong way to approach discontent with Russian anti-gay laws because it targeted the wrong people -- the athletes -- and offered no consequence for the Russian officials who enact the laws.

Case in point. This weekend, 19-year-old Jason Brown brought the crowd to its feet at the US Figure Skating Championships well before his long program routine had completed. It was a Susan-Boyle kind of performance for many viewers unfamiliar with Brown. The public knows Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek (neither of whom competed), many know Jeremy Abbott (who won the event). Nobody outside of figure skating circles knew Brown, ranked 16th in the world by the International Skating Union.

His long program was something to behold. . . . His final long program score -- 182.61 -- was under 13 points away from the world record. It was an epic performance from an up-and-coming athlete who has finally arrived at his dream: A spot on the US Olympic team.

Who knows if he'll be able to recapture the magic of that performance in the Olympics next month. Regardless, he deserves to chase his dream of an Olympic appearance whether Russia has anti-gay laws or not.

Whatever our focus turns to in Sochi, I'm just glad this man will get to perform this routine for the world.

I remain torn and wish nothing but the best for the athletes and nothing but the worse for Putin and his Nazi like accomplices.   I save particular ill wishes for the reactionary bastards in the leadership of Russian Orthodox Church which has brought so much misfortune to so many over the centuries.  What do readers think?