老司机直播

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Controversy is unofficial Olympic partner

老司机直播 expert says games rife with fear, intolerance

Although some people maintain that politics has no place in sport, the modern-era Olympics are almost never free from controversy, said Bruce Kidd, a former Canadian Olympian, Olympic historian and professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education.

If one considers controversies around the host country, some of the global tensions in the world and controversies in individual sports, 鈥渁t least one and probably two pertain to every Games,鈥 said Kidd, citing tensions in Vancouver over the role of the Aboriginal people and their land and the exclusion of women鈥檚 ski jumping from the Games, as well as the human rights concerns in Beijing.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin is stirring up controversy, said Kidd, whether it is through his LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) policies or through fear over security. He is also dusting off some of the language used during the Cold War.

鈥淵ou hear things like 鈥楻ussia is different than the West, and they want us to be just like them,鈥欌 said Kidd.

Given such a climate, he believes it is more important than ever for Canadians to speak out.

鈥淢ost people in Russia completely discount American voices because of the history between the two countries, so we have an obligation to make ourselves heard,鈥 he said.

Kidd, himself, is personally involved in social justice work related to the Olympics. He continues to work with the Maquilla Solidarity Network to ensure fair labour standards in the production of clothing and souvenirs worn and sold at the Olympics. It is a long-term initiative and, said Kidd, 鈥淭he Canadian Olympic Committee isn鈥檛 there yet.鈥

In the face of Putin鈥檚 anti-propaganda law, Kidd is on the steering committee of a Vancouver-based Olympic Pride House initiative. The group has garnered the support of Vancouver city council for a declaration that, among other things, calls upon the Olympic committee to amend its charter to 鈥渆xplicitly include a non-discrimination clause in regard to LGBTQ persons and sexual and gender identity鈥 and to ensure the safety of all LGBT athletes in Sochi.

Kidd said that overall security costs in Sochi will be astronomical: 鈥渢he G-20 times 10.鈥

There are a lot of reasons for doing security, but it cuts down on access and the rights of participants, and it reinforces fear,鈥 said Kidd.

He is saddened by the contradiction between the spirit of the Olympic Games and the reality.

鈥淭he Olympic movement as I lived and experienced it is a peace movement, an effort to bring people together to promote peace under the auspices of culture and sport,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was meant to help people understand each other so that when conflict arose, we could have negotiations and mediation, not war.

鈥淭oday, the only way we can pursue that aspiration is within an armed camp.鈥

This article is one in a series. (Read about and .) 

Elaine Smith is a writer with the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education at the University of Toronto.

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