It’s been surprising, if not downright shocking, to witness how rapidly the institutions that rule the sports world have entered the fray in opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
When people insist that sports organizations stand up for human rights, these organizations feel the pressure in their pocketbook.
Just days after the invasion, the International Olympic Committee called for countries involved in international competition to “not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials.” It said its goal was “to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.” This is surprising, considering that the IOC never met an autocracy it didn’t love—including Russia, which hosted the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The International Paralympic Committee, after an outcry from participating countries, reversed course and barred Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.
FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, took an even harder—and to soccer-mad Russia undoubtedly more painful—stance by banning all Russian national and club teams from international competition and kicking out the Russian men’s national team from their World Cup qualifying games. Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, independently of FIFA, all refused to play Russia in World Cup qualifying matches.
Then the National Hockey League, not exactly known for its political spine, announced that it would cease running its Russian language social and digital media sites as well as severing its ties with Russian business partners.
What has driven these actions by sporting organizations? They are, remember, cartels whose politics have ranged from uncaring to downright reactionary. They have been, over the years, way too comfortable doing business with autocrats and oligarchs. They also have had little or nothing to say about the crimes, wars, and occupations in other countries, no matter the body count. Their hypocrisy is as dazzling as their newfound zeal for peace.
What has changed? First and foremost, there is the very real possibility that nuclear weapons could be unleashed while everyone is scrambling to find a way to curb Russia’s imperial ambitions. This united sporting front is also due, in part, to the peace activism of athletes ranging from Russian tennis players to Ukrainian soccer players.
But the best way to understand what is taking place is by recognizing that there has been a profound shift in the sports-industrial complex over the past ten years.
Our world is mired in polarization, crisis, and decay. The world increasingly has become a place where it is more difficult for injustice to fester in the shadows; instead, misbehavior invariably draws a response on social media.
The young audience that has driven this cultural shift is also extremely desired by sports organizations that fear their own aging audiences signal the future obsolescence of their product. When people insist that sports organizations stand up for human rights, these organizations feel the pressure in their pocketbook. In short, it is harder for them to hide.
The athletes themselves, many of whom are of this generation, have led this shift in the traditionally conservative, staid world of sports. The example of athletes who have spoken out over the last decade, including former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, has had a molecular-altering effect on the sports world, one that has left the IOC, the IPC, FIFA, and the NHL attempting to catch up.
Kaepernick’s actions of taking a knee in protest of police violence and racial inequity has been, for the last five years, a global phenomenon. It has unleashed athletes from the Olympics to the World Cup, who have wanted to get their points across to society. Soccer teams in Europe now routinely take a knee as a challenge against the racism in their own fan bases.
WNBA players helped oust sitting Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, by aggressively countering her criticism of their support for Black Lives Matter, and in the process flipped the entire U.S. Senate. It’s the players who have challenged leagues to actually stand for something beyond profits. Whatever their sincerity, this pressure has created flashpoints like the one we are seeing today.
There is no denying it: Sports is a political force now and in the future. The wine is out of the bottle, and even the great sporting cartels understand that it’s not being poured back in.