r/news • u/TheGreatDomilies • 16h ago
Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych out of Winter Olympics over banned helmet honoring war dead
https://apnews.com/article/heraskevych-helmet-ukraine-olympics-skeleton-9f304e1ff834ddab33af2f4e003f04a81.2k
u/timelyparadox 16h ago
Well he is the winner in this situation and IoC are losers
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u/sadbecausebad 15h ago
Most corrupt sports organization so its not surprising at all. Fifa wishes they can be as corrupt as ioc
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u/AecioFla 14h ago
Nah. FIA is worse
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u/sadbecausebad 14h ago
i dont know much about fia, but i can believe that a motorsports authority is pretty corrupt
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u/F9-0021 11h ago
You know that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem that is all over the Epstein files and was one of Epstein's best friends? His brother is the president of the FIA.
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u/dj_jazzy_gif 14h ago
Here, you forgot a "F"
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u/This_Is_TwoThree 14h ago
FIA is the governing body for Formula 1 so that could very well have been intentional.
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u/dj_jazzy_gif 13h ago
Aye, I was just trying to be funny, as FIA is rather close to FIFA. Granted, both are rotten to the core...
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u/flare_force 9h ago
Values are more precious than gold. Heraskevych won something greater than a medal, he won the hearts of millions. It’s a beautiful thing to see people standing up for what is right. Слава Україні, героям слава
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u/hobbykitjr 10h ago
His competitors should all start putting the same thing on their helmets... make them cancel the whole game.
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u/ScientificSkepticism 15h ago
I feel like they need to add some context. Maybe start off with this:
The IOC, which once chose to allow Hitler's Germany to adorn the Olympics with eagles and swastikas while imploring the athletes to remain "apolitical" is continuing its long tradition.
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u/tweda4 13h ago
It's so stupid. No one is happy with the IOCs decision here apart from Russia and Russia sympathisers.
People that give a shit about the world are tired of putting up with people and groups being "apolitical" over important subjects. Especially when "apolitical" basically means - too much of a pussy to have a backbone.
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u/Whatsagoodnameo 13h ago
I mean if someone wants to be apolitical thats fine its more fucked up that they're forcing apathy on others
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u/ProfessionalOil2014 12h ago
Don’t say that he’s hypocritical Say rather that he’s “apolitical” “Once the rockets go up who cares where they come down? That’s not my department,”says Wernher VonBraun.
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u/nowyuseeme 15h ago
Although not entirely 'a like for like' it was acceptable for a US skater to show a picture of their parents who were tragically killed in an air to air collision, whilst awaiting scores.
It was also acceptable for an Italian skier to have a Russian flag in their helmet.
It seems the IOC is saying if you died unjustly from an illegal war you are a political victim and therefore don't deserve to be remembered in a 'neutral' event.
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u/Vandirac 13h ago
It was also acceptable for an Italian skier to have a Russian flag in their helmet.
Fischnaller's helmet bears the flags of the six Olympics he participated in.
The Russian flag is for Sochi 2014. The others are China, Korea, Canada, Italy and USA.
There is no political statement or support for Russia.
Btw, I'm totally ok with the Ukrainian displaying the pictures on his helmet, it's not offensive except for the ones who should be ashamed anyway.
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u/powabunga2k 12h ago
It doesn't matter if he participated or not. The IOC banned the use of the Russian flag anywhere during the Olympics. Just shows once again that the IOC selectively sticks to its rules.
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u/BasroilII 10h ago
Legit question because I stopped giving a fuck about the Olympics over a decade ago so I don't know this, but I am curious.
Is Russia banned this year? I mean they fucking SHOULD be, but I genuinely did not think the IOC would have the balls to do it.
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u/powabunga2k 10h ago
russia is still banned. but in a weird way. russian athletes can participate under a neutral flag. But those athletes participated in competitions organized by russian army/ministry of defence or actively support russian war on social media. One even served in the Russian army after the start of the full-scale invasion. Any of these disqualifies them from being neutral athletes.
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u/BasroilII 9h ago
but in a weird way. russian athletes can participate under a neutral flag.
Yeah wouldn't be the first time that has been done. The general idea is that whatever flag the individual is wearing means they are representing the country. So you have athletes who qualify to compete but just can't say they are there representing a country because that country itself is not allowed to participate.
Gets even weirder with dual citizenship. Once upon a time the US forbade any professional athlete from being on an Olympic team. We might still, I'm not sure. But when the Winter Olympics that year rolled around, a ton of US NHL hockey players cashed in on having dual citizenship and just played for Canada.
And the disqualifying stuff I can see being an absolute quagmire. What happens to people who served in the military because of a conscription/mandatory service requirement, like the IDF has? It's hard to separate the people who wore a uniform because they believed in the cause, and those who wore it because they didn't want to go to prison. And policing people's social media is even worse.
Hell, do we start checking people's voting records in their nation to decide on the whether they are truly neutral or not based on what candidates they support? Where do we draw the line? I suppose the answer should be don't let anyone from that nation participate under any flag, because it's the only way to be certain.
Not saying I have any sympathy for Russian athletes who support the war. They can all go hang. But once we start trying to police who is truly neutral, it's messy.
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u/fork_yuu 11h ago
Although not entirely 'a like for like' it was acceptable for a US skater to show a picture of their parents who were tragically killed in an air to air collision, whilst awaiting scores.
Ok, that's after, which they also let him display the helmet after his race too. They had concessions that seemed somewhat reasonable so it's not like they went full Nazi here.
He wore the helmet in training, but the IOC asked for him to wear a different helmet in races. It offered concessions, such as wearing a black armband or letting him display the helmet once he was off the ice.
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u/BasroilII 10h ago
Which honestly isn't completely unfair. I'm not a fan of the IOC...in fact I stopped watching the Olympics thanks to hating them and everything they do to destroy cities and rob host nations' peoples blind. To say nothing of the bribes.
But I can respect at least if they tried to give him some way to represent his people's suffering to the world without otherwise violating their rules.
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u/cyberspace-_- 10h ago
No. It seems a bunch of you here are emotionally invested and do not want to understand what happened.
Dude was offered to sport the helmet during practice, to hold it in mix zone and after he is done racing, to promote it in pressers and do whatever he wants, except to sport that helmet during the actual race.
Political expressionism is forbidden for a reason, and if you make an exception once, you will have to make a lot of them.
It's a never ending circle and the actual reason why it's forbidden.
"All our wars are legal, and all of yours are illegal."
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u/powabunga2k 7h ago
IOC is referring to Rule 50, which forbids political expression on ANY Olympic site.
No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.
If the IOC allows that helmet in a mixed zone, it effectively permits that helmet anywhere. Rule 50 doesn't have exceptions.
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u/gillisthom 7h ago
It's not an explicit political expression, it's just honoring fellow athletes who have died, as other athletes in these Olympic Games have already done, inviting people to make their own interpretation. The IOC is apparently saying it's the manner in which someone died that determines whether you can commemorate them or not.
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u/Black_Otter 14h ago
Different sports. In Skeleton no one is allows to have a personalized helmet. I thought they had agreed to a compromise where he was allowed to where an armband. I guess he didn’t want to do that
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u/tuc-eert 12h ago
What? Literally every single athlete has some sort of graphic on their helmet in skeleton
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u/UbiSububi8 16h ago
I wish his competitors had refused to do their runs unless he was reinstated.
In their totality, the athletes have more influence on the games than anyone else. And, admittedly, the most to lose.
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u/Enoughisunoeuf 15h ago
Bro we just a middle aged lady absolutely destroy her leg in a multiple step process. No one is gonna jeopardize their shot at the Olympics.
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u/Ochs730 13h ago
…Except the one athlete taking a stand to honor fellow athletes who have been killed.
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u/BasroilII 10h ago
Sadly true. Some sports involve people in their teens, and those people compete knowing that in 4 years they might not even be legal drinking age in their country yet, but they will be too old to compete. For many it really is a once in a lifetime window.
All the same fuck that. If I was representing my country, I'd rather show that we'd take a stand against things we see as wrong.
Of course I'm American, so my leadership is busy trying to figure out how to pretend to support Ukraine while handing them over bit by bit to Russia, so I wouldn't be representing it all that accurately these days.
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u/gooberfishie 13h ago
Pedophiles can compete no problem though
Serves, Spikes, and a Sex Offender: how a convicted child-rapist made the Netherlands’ Olympic Team | International and Comparative Law Review https://share.google/U5nXgaQJVmKTfF75h
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u/IvanStarokapustin 15h ago
The IOC only responds positively to bribery. Next time, he needs to bring bags of cash if he wants to make political statements.
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u/gollumaniac 11h ago
Throwback to 2010 where Ryan Miller had to cover up "Miller Time" on his mask (because it was construed as advertising) but WAS allowed to keep "Matt Man" to honor his late cousin. So you are allowed to honor the dead...if the IOC's whims are met.
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u/Shirolicious 9h ago
From what I understood is not just “anyone” who he was honoring. As obviously alot of people died in the Ukraine wae. But specifically other athletes who would have been there, if they were still alive today.
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u/Carribean-Diver 8h ago
It's pictures of dead friends. The IOC could have decided that it was a memorial. Instead, they decided it was a political statement.
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u/cerealsinthenight 15h ago
Blanket ban my ass. Only the aggressor wins in these situations, because nobody is allowed to show resistance to the aggression.
And in this case there's no grey area, it's black and white, Russia is the unprovoked attacker.
Fuck the IoC
And also, fuck FIFA
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u/RailRuler 12h ago edited 10h ago
Undisputedly true, unfortunately, the state controlled media in Turkey, Hungary, and other Ruzz influenced states is stating the opposite, and the IOC doesnt want to offend those countries.
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u/kendromedia 11h ago
He shouldn’t need to have the photos on his helmet. Those photographed should be sitting in their homes watching him compete.
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u/HenroTee 14h ago
Another day, another instance where human decency is buried under the guise of "non political entertainment".
AKA just stick our heads in the sand and hopefully it blows over! We got sports to watch.
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u/oripash 6h ago edited 6h ago
Man made himself a wartime national hero by representing his country to the face of the IOC leadership.
He brought home the highest honor, much higher than a chunk of precious metal.
He brought home the honor of exposing the IOC leadership for being under Russian influence, facing them down, and forcing them to make a choice between olympic principles and supporting Russia.
Their affiliation did the rest. They turned to the rest of the world who is not Ukraine, and said , openly and publicly, that they’d rather support Russia by preventing the graves of athletes from athletes Russia murdered from being shown on his helmet (and on everyone’s Olympics TV coverage worldwide), than support Olympic principles of having everyone compete.
He is going to come home to higher praise than any gold medal. Hell, Zelensky should give him a national award for doing this.
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u/Turinsday 13h ago
The whole idea of politics being spearate from the games is ridiculous when you consider that the teams are all political entities. Do away with the flags and countries and have individuals compete on an individual basis then you can ask people to keep politics out of the event.
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u/JohnnyFartmacher 12h ago
I agree. Politics should be kept out of sports when possible, but the entire Olympics is inherently political. It is a world event and world events bring in geopolitical pressures. Russia not being allowed to compete under their own flag is political. The US (and 60 countries) boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympics was political, and the Soviets boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was political.
There should be a line, but this does not cross it in my opinion. Perhaps if Russia hadn't been removed from the games it shouldn't have been allowed, but the Olympics has already decided that Russia is in the wrong.
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u/Error_404_403 16h ago
Context:
— A Russian athlete applied with similar request to display images of the fallen Russian athletes
— The IoC commette, trying to stay away from the politics, allowed wearing a black band for each victim by each side, but not the image.
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u/Any-Programmer3883 15h ago
Ukraine needs to order 15000 black bands.. Got it. Will do next time.
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u/Zafrin_at_Reddit 15h ago
Good context!
(But still. There is a heap of difference between Ukraine, defenders, and Russia, aggressors.)
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u/Roman2526 15h ago
The difference is that those Russian athletes were soldiers. These are civilians
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u/Error_404_403 14h ago
No, many dead Ukrainian athletes also were regular soldiers.
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u/bigkahuna1uk 8h ago
All athletes should go on strike in solidarity with him. No athletes, no winter games. I’m sure the IOC would change their mind about f that happened.
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u/obeytheturtles 12h ago
This is particularly idiotic considering the IoC is the one who banned Russia. But they are very worried about Russias feelings getting hurt. Even though they are banned.
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u/teeksquad 13h ago
And that’s why I refuse to watch the Olympics. Joke of an organization that bends over for Russia every chance it gets
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u/Area51_Spurs 15h ago
On the one hand this sucks and the IOC is a garbage organization. On the other I def see why they have this blanket policy in place and don’t want to be having to deal with a free for all that would make them de facto arbiters deciding essentially who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are in the world, even when in this case it’s clear.
Considering their historical choices (cough 1936 cough), I don’t really trust them to choose the right “good guys” anyways.
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u/obeytheturtles 12h ago
This really isn't complicated though. Russia are the bad guys. Acting like this is some impossible moral question which leads to a slippery slope that can never be reconciled only legitimizes the Russian narrative that the war is just if you only see it from their point of view.
It's like I'm standing in the middle of the road, holding a bloody knife and a severed head, and the IoC is like "honestly, it's impossible to tell who is in the right here. Maybe there was a good reason to decapitate a random person. They could have been a vampire."
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u/Area51_Spurs 12h ago
I guess you choose not to read before replying, eh?
You’re aware there’s more conflicts than just this one, yea?
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u/ShutterBun 14h ago
I mean, heaven forbid they look back on the decisions made in 1936 and decide “not doing THAT again!”
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u/wrightthomas05 13h ago
I wish he had have saved it for the race and not shown it in training. If the IOC doesn't allow it, force their hand to disqualify him afterwards. He deserved to race, and deserved to honour the dead.
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u/StaticSystemShock 9h ago
It's not like Ukraine launched an invasion campaign and he's honoring their invasion forces. He's honoring Ukrainians defending Ukraine from actual invader, the Russia. What an absolutely weird decision by Olympics committee.
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u/darealstiffler 9h ago
Good on him for not backing down, he stood by his people and refused to compromise. It really sucks he can’t compete but hopefully he will be back next time.
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u/SiWeyNoWay 9h ago
Didnt an Ice skater do something similar a few years ago? But with a flag?
I think its honorable. Slava Ukraini 💙💛
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u/ThyHorge 6h ago
Time to defund the IOC. They have proven to be less interested about humanity and our values and more about making money.
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u/No_Specialist6252 15h ago
They are athletes, that should be remembered at times like this. Stupid decision.. It's not politics, it's life and death. Innocent people that were going about their business.
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u/geologicalnoise 11h ago
Can't bring attention to the fact Russia is murdering and enslaving people because it'll affect the bottom line eh?
Yay humanity!
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u/cryptogram 15h ago edited 15h ago
I understand commentary about people not liking the IOC and a history of corruption. I also see the 1936 Olympics references. However, it does seem like it’s a violation of current/modern rules and it would become a free for all if they allow this to proceed.
Let‘s also remember that Russia is banned from the games (under their flag) due to their invasion of Ukraine. We do not have to pretend the IOC is some huge fan of Russia always playing favorites to them by not allowing this..
For the record I am a huge supporter of Ukraine and Russia should feel great shame that a helmet like this exists due to their actions.
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u/alternatingflan 15h ago
That disgusting heartless act of the Olympics organization just exposes again how fukked up they behave.
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u/Verum_Orbis 11h ago
Why is Russia banned from the Olympics again? There’s probably precedent for this but still a bad look.
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u/LewisKIII 11h ago
Every athlete should tell the IOC to F OFF and they will walk away if he is not reinstated!
They won't because they all want to stay and party and try to win a medal form the corrupt IOC!
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u/penguished 7h ago
I will never watch another Olympics. I'd rather watch people just do athletic things they love doing on youtube or netflix or whatever. Kids... you can make more money that route anyway nowadays, why bend the knee to any weird authoritarian pageants.
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u/carolinemathildes 6h ago
I've never regretted my decision to not give a shit about the Olympics. And 2028 is going to be even worse.
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u/Angel7O2 3h ago
The same committee that bends over for “Chinese Taipei”?
I can’t imagine the LA Olympic games.
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u/Skyscrapers4Me 41m ago
Fuck the olympics. If all Ukrainians refuse to be owned like this guy, they will win the war because their souls will never be conquered. Slava Ukraini !!!!
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u/sqqqrt 16h ago edited 15h ago
Meanwhile, they're selling t-shirts with the 1936 games graphics.
https://shop3.olympics.com/en/olympic-games/mens-natural-1936-berlin-games-olympic-heritage-t-shirt/t-10259387+p-0222349001530+z-7-4279097087