JOA not interested in Olympic boycott
Published:Thursday | March 2, 2023 | 1:03 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
AS THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) faces criticism regarding plans to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in next year’s Olympics, Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) President Christopher Samuda is against any boycott of the games, believing that all athletes have the right to compete.
The plan, announced earlier in February, requires that Russian and Belarusian athletes compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics as well as the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan as neutral athletes, not representing “their state or any other organisation in their country”.
Both countries’ state and government officials are still under sanctions by the IOC and sporting events are prohibited from being organised in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is now entering its second year. Athletes from both countries are currently banned from competition by their respective sporting federations.
With some countries firmly against the idea of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate, there have been whispers of boycotting the Olympics but Samuda made it clear the Jamaica Olympic Association would not be taking any such action.
“We do not support the boycott for these reasons: One: Athletes do not make war. Two: The Olympic and Paralympic charter both enshrine the rights of athletes who transition to the Olympic and Paralympic stage and we have to give our athletes the opportunity. Our athletes are in a job. They have invested four years of their lives sacrificially for the county and for any decision that would rob them of that opportunity would have to be taken very carefully,” Samuda told The Gleaner.
A group of more than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, released a statement on February 20 calling for the current ban to continue.
Polish Sports Minister Kamil Bortniczuk told Reuters in an interview on February 2 that the extreme stance to abstain from the Games could have massive implications based on which countries withdraw.
“Considering this, I don’t think we will face tough decisions before the Olympics and if we were to boycott the Games, the coalition we will be a part of will be broad enough to make holding the Games pointless,” Bortniczuk said.
While Samuda has not conferred with other Caribbean associations on the matter and anticipates contrasting views, he is hopeful that all avenues can be used to address the issue.
“It is a position that we express in Jamaica, it is a position that we would recommend as well. But there will be nuances of course and we recognise that. And therefore you are the only arbiter of your decision. And we respect any decision that may be different from that which we are taking,” Samuda said.
“But at the end of the day, we have to look at sport as a unifying influence and we have to come around the table more often than we do now in order to settle our differences.”
In response to a potential boycott, the IOC in a CNN.com report earlier in February referenced its website expressing solidarity with Ukraine and expressing that threats of boycott “goes against the fundamentals of the Olympic Movement and the principles it stands for”.
“As history has shown us, previous boycotts did not achieve their political ends and served only to punish the athletes of the boycotting National Olympic Committee,” the statement read.
Samuda sees their decision based on the notion of not making athletes the scapegoats of the actions of their respective countries.
“It is a principled position that says that we must give our athletes every opportunity to transition to the international stage, particularly when they are not the creators of this turmoil,” Samuda said.