Tag: olympics

ESPN Writer Disturbed By U.S. Flag At Olympics: ‘I Keep Thinking Back On The Capitol Riots’

An ESPN sportswriter on Monday said he didn’t like the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics because the American flag carried by the U.S. athletes reminded him of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the “rise of White nationalism.”

“I love the opening ceremonies, march of countries,” William Rhoden said on “CBS This Morning,” noting that he has long enjoyed covering the opening ceremonies for the games. “Then I realized, you know, man, particularly after these last four years, I had it wrong. Nationalism is not good. We’ve seen the rise of White nationalism. Nationalism is not good.”

“And also, this whole idea — I keep thinking back on the Capitol riots, and I saw a lot of, you know, U.S. flags,” Rhoden said.

“So now when I see the flag and the flag raised, what — what America am I living in? You know, are the ones that don’t think, you know, we should be here?”

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Olympic opening ceremony director fired for Holocaust joke

The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee fired the director of the opening ceremony on Thursday because of a Holocaust joke he made during a comedy show in 1998.

Organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said a day ahead of the opening ceremony that director Kentaro Kobayashi has been dismissed. He was accused of using a joke about the Holocaust in his comedy act, including the phrase “Let’s play Holocaust.”

“We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, has used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy,” Hashimoto said. “We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many involved parties as well as the people in Tokyo and the rest of the country.”

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If Sha’Carri Richardson Can Get High and Still Outrun Everybody, She Should Be Allowed To Do It

Sha’Carri Richardson ran 100 meters faster than any other woman at the U.S. Olympic trials, but she won’t be able to compete in the event at the Olympic Games in Tokyo after testing positive for marijuana.

There are so, so many things wrong with this. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which officially announced Richardson’s month-long suspension on Friday, should be ashamed for how they’ve handled the situation. More importantly, they should change their policies to ensure more athletes aren’t subjected to an unnecessary punishment for using a substance that is obviously not going to provide a competitive edge.

And while the situation seems fairly absurd on its face, it actually gets worse the deeper you go.

Start with the fact that the USADA doesn’t actually classify tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical found in cannabis, as a performance-enhancing drug. But the USADA—whose sole purpose, ostensibly, is to ensure the integrity of athletic events—tests athletes for THC anyway because it regards marijuana as “a ‘Substance of Abuse’ because it is frequently used in society outside the context of sport.”

In the statement announcing Richardson’s suspension, the USADA acknowledged that “Richardson’s…use of cannabis occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance.”

In other words, Richardson’s positive test had no bearing on the fact that she out-raced every other American woman at the Olympic trials—which were held in Eugene, Oregon, where marijuana is legal. Richardson engaged in legal activity that did not bestow upon her an unfair competitive advantage…and yet she’s been suspended anyway.

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Former Olympian: Female Weightlifters Told To ‘Be Quiet’ About Transgender People Competing For Olympics

Former Olympic weightlifter Tracey Lambrechs said female athletes are being told to silence complaints about transgender New Zealand athlete Laurel Hubbard competing in women’s weightlifting competitions.

Lambrechs blasted allowing biological men to compete against women in sports during an interview with Television New Zealand (TVNZ) last week, according to Reuters. Lambrechs comments come as the 43-year-old Hubbard is poised to become the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics, assuming they can qualify under the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) regulations for fitness and performance.

“I’m quite disappointed, quite disappointed for the female athlete who will lose out on that spot,” Lambrechs said. “We’re all about equality for women in sport but right now that equality is being taken away from us.”

“I’ve had female weightlifters come up to me and say, ‘What do we do? This isn’t fair, what do we do?’ Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do because every time we voice it we get told to be quiet,” she continued.

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Biological male weightlifter who identifies as female and competes against women poised to become first transgender Olympian

Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard — a biological male who identifies as female and has competed against women for several years — is poised to become the first-ever transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Games, Inside the Games reported.

What are the details?

The outlet said the New Zealander has been “effectively guaranteed a place at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after the approval of an amended qualifying system by the International Olympic Committee.”

Since so many Olympic-qualifying competitions had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IOC devised a new system reducing the number of competition performances needed for qualification, Inside the Games said.

Hubbard’s best qualifying total is 285 kilograms, the outlet said — which is a bit over 628 pounds — and that puts the weightlifter “very much in the reckoning for a place on the podium in the women’s super-heavyweights in Tokyo.”

Inside the Games said only three athletes will have higher qualifying totals when the entries are named — and while Hubbard is ranked 16th, at least six weightlifters ranked higher won’t be attending the Olympics for various reasons.

Hubbard, 43, will be the oldest weightlifter at Tokyo, the outlet said. CNN reported, however, that Hubbard has not been named yet to the national women’s weightlifting team going to the Games.

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