It's the first standoff in summer games history and it took a nail-biting U.S. women's basketball win, in the final action of Paris 2024, to make happen.
I think it’s a stretch to call international competition “political.” But if you insist on doing that, then it’s silly to claim that they are supposed to be apolitical when every athlete competes under a flag.
It is de facto political because people bring their politics to it, and because people are who they are. It is also overtly organized around the nation states of the athletes which is essentially political. But the spirit of it is to set politics aside and compete in a sportsmanlike way on an even playing field. You might say who cares what the “spirit” is versus the facts, and you’d have a point, but then again I’m not sure we should characterize the event by how terrorists choose to abuse it, either.
Congratulations for actually saying your piece instead of just “lol bruh.” You just took part in a discussion!
I dunno. Seems like they’re just saying the nature of competing in sports isn’t political. But the fact that the flag they’re draped in is inextricably tied to that nation’s geopolitical actions means that there’s no way it can’t be seen as political. Makes sense to me.
The ancient Olympic Games was literally the biggest and most important political event in ancient Greece(and during the hellenistic period, in the "World").
Everyone gathered there, wars were temporary suspended so if you had anything important to announce, you did it there. And thats why alliances were often announced there, alongside with shitload of backdoor deals and politicking.