The Leadership We've Come To Expect

Well, the IOC finally decided to take a stand. Or not.

On Friday, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) denounced a Russian law that criminalizes public support for gay rights as “inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the Olympic and Paralympic movements” — but asked that athletes abide by it anyway.

“The athletes are always going into countries with laws different than his or her own country. They’re going to agree with those laws in some ways, they’re going to disagree with those laws in other ways,” USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun told Russia’s R-Sport. “It’s our strong desire that our athletes comply with the laws of every nation that we visit. This law is no different.”

No -- this law is every different. This is not about traffic tickets -- this is a law designed specifically against a minority. If the members of the IOC can't see the difference, what are they doing running the most high-profile sports organization in the world?

Oh, wait -- I forgot: the IOC is not about reality. It's about airy abstractions and the "brand." It's about hobnobbing with the rich and useless and not concerning yourself with the plight of "those people." Why do I think these people would fit right in on the D.C. cocktail party circuit? Except they would probably think it a step or two below them. But the mindset is the same: they only talk to each other, and when the rest of the world is ill-mannered enough to intrude on their little bubble, they get very flustered.

The bottom line on this is that if you have the respect for human rights you claim, you can't ask people to abide by this law -- nor can you threaten to punish those who don't.

I think this quote, from an IOC member, says it all:

"Why on earth didn't the government wait till after the Sochi Olympics. It's created a right old mess," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

How terribly inconvenient.

Also, check out this post at Towleroad.

As might be expected, the IOC's corporate sponsors are just as eager to remain noncommittal, with one exception.

As discussions about Russia’s anti-LGBT laws dominate coverage of the lead-up to the planned Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, only one corporate sponsor of the Olympics, General Electric, is pressing the International Olympic Committee publicly for action in support of human rights in response to inquiries from BuzzFeed.

While several companies pointed to their own support for LGBT rights — including, as BuzzFeed reported Tuesday, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s — few of the Games’ key sponsors were willing to engage the IOC in any specific request for more action. Several, in fact, provided BuzzFeed with identical language backing the IOC’s current position that it has received assurances from the Russian government that the games will not be affected by the new law banning LGBT “propaganda” being shown to minors.

A GE spokeswoman, however, told BuzzFeed: “We expect the IOC to uphold human rights in every aspect of the Games.”

It's nice to see GE take that stand, but it's going to take some muscle to budge the IOC, from them and others. (There's a protest planned for today at McDonald's headquarters here in suburban Oak Brook.)

John Aravosis has a round-up at AmericaBlog.