Ban Russia from the 2016 Olympics!
- by: Valerie Janovic
- recipient: The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Blood doping in the Olympics is not a victimless crime. Medals are stolen from the athletes who respect the integrity of the game, and dedicate countless hours of their lives to the sport they love. Their years of hardwork and dedication are no match for drug-enhanced athletes.
The former head of Russia’s national anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, confessed to doping dozens of athletes including many Olympic medallists. Rodchenkov alleges that he was commissioned to dope athletes by the Russian government.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it will be exploring legal options before banning the Russian team from competing in the Rio Olympics. But after the state-sponsored doping conspiracy, Russia cannot be trusted to compete in the 2016 Olympics.
Sign this petition to tell the IOC to ban Russia from the Olympics.
After Rodchenkov came forward, a 57 day investigation revealed 580 positive drug tests, across 30 different sports, were covered up since 2012. The doping scandal compromised the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, where Russia won 33 medals, 13 of them gold, and most of them undeserved.
Track and field athlete Alysia Montaño lost twice to Mariya Savinova, one of the Russian athletes implicated in the doping scandal. After her second devastating loss, Montaño collapsed at the finish line. In an interview Montaño explained, “At that moment, I realized, I was racing against robots...I felt really failed and really betrayed, I actually felt like my career was a farce.” In 2015, The IOC banned Savinova from competing in the Olympics again, but the damage was done, Alysia Montaño lost the medal she so clearly deserved.
Unless doping is taken seriously, and truly disciplined, clean athletes may be forced to turn to drugs. Barring Russia from competing in the Olympics is a harsh punishment, but it’s the only way to truly deter state-sponsored doping. Some Russian athletes may be clean, but as McLaren’s report revealed, positive drug results can easily be covered up. If they did it before, what’s to stop them from doing it again. After stealing gold medals from dedicated athletes, Russia does not deserve to compete in the 2016 Olympic games.
Sign this petition to tell the IOC to preserve the integrity of the games, and ban Russia from the Rio Olympics.
The IOC is worried about banning Russia entirely due to fear of losing sponsors, but the Olympics are about integrity and uniting nations around the world, not corporate sponsorship. Russia needs to be disqualified for its state sponsored doping program.
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.