Don’t boycott Sochi

Boycotting the Winter Olympics in Sochi is the wrong way to protest Russia’s new anti-gay laws. Athletes of every sexual orientation and gender should answer the Russian government by doing what they have trained so hard to do — win. Russia’s new laws, which ban gay-pride parades and any kind of “propaganda” for homosexuality, have created a moral dilemma for the international community. The term propaganda is poorly defined, leaving it open to abuse. We suspect that was the intention. The International Olympic Committee, which should never have granted the Games to Russia’s barely concealed dictatorship, insisted it has been assured that athletes will not be affected. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, however, said Thursday that the laws will be enforced during the Games. Many activists are boycotting Russian products and calling for a boycott of the Games, but such an action would leave Russian President Vladimir Putin unmoved and would penalize athletes who have dedicated their lives to reaching the pinnacle of their sports. When 65 nations led by the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980, the Soviet Union didn’t budge from its invasion of Afghanistan. For athletes like Victoria cyclist Bernie Willock, missing the Olympics was devastating. And it led to the tit-for-tat boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by the Soviets and 13 of their allies, leaving those who participated, like Bernie’s brother Martin, with an asterisk. Instead, let’s take our example from the 1936 Games, where black athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals and showed the Nazis that the measure of a person is what’s inside.