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Comment by isalmon | Hacker News Reader

I personally think it's a bad idea to mix sport and politics. We already had it in 1980 and 1984 - it did not bring any good to anybody. Don't like Russian laws or Putin? There are other ways to say that. Sportsmen should not be involved in this type of stuff.

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>I personally think it's a bad idea to mix sport and politics.

So... you think the Olympics are a bad idea. no judgment, I'm not a fan of nationalistic dick measuring and governments lighting money on fire either.

Also for that matter, what about the gay athletes how the hell are they supposed to not be involved in this type of stuff?

Russia will provide them with nice secure cells to ensure they do not become involved.

As Russian I feel obligated to say that it is already mixed by Putin: Olympiad steamrolled human lives, destroyed infrastructure and environment and corrupted all related people and companies. And this is why many people in Russia will boycott it.

The 1968 fist raise probably contributed to the cause of civil rights in the U.S., so I wouldn't argue these are useless gestures.

(1) Would you feel the same way if you were gay?

(2) Elite sports is already big politics and big business.

(1) I think so. If I were an Olympic athlete and the Olympic games were in some strange (for me) country where it was prohibited to talk about my particular sexual orientation in the presence of children. Would I care? Probably not, I would go there to compete, not to talk about my sexuality.

(2) Unlike in the US, a lot of Olympic sports (boxing, figure skating) specifically focus on NON-professionals (i.e. people who don't earn money doing what they are doing).

> I personally think it's a bad idea to mix sport and politics. We already had it in 1980 and 1984

As soon as there is big money involved (which is definitely the case with the Olympic Games), sports and politics are always mixed. Countries have to spend billions in order to make the games happen. This is not just a few people doing sports for just the sports.

This is not about politics. This is about human rights, respect and dignity.

what about the gay athletes who wish to compete? It makes it a little tough to not be involved in this type of stuff.

The New Zealand government sent a rugby team to South Africa with no Maori players as per the host request. This outrageous request fueled the quest for equality here. Likewise, the international reaction to South African teams that toured helped fuel the opposition to apartheid (and it is interesting the New Zealand's Prime Minister can no longer remember his stance on the racist South African team visit to NZ, as he is currently representing NZ at Mandela's funeral).

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/no-maoris-no-tour-po...

Exactly.

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