CANUCKS HAVE NOTHING FOR WHICH TO APOLOGIZE

Tensions with Russian athletes aren’t going anywhere — nor should they

Beneath an unspoken backdrop of anger, deceit and frustration, the Games of the XXIII Winter Olympiad opened Friday night here with music and noise and dance and celebration — and angst. Lots of angst. With the contradiction of these Games already evident and certainly disconcerting.

For all the pomp, the usual opening ceremony circumstance and the natural political intrigue, the story that won’t go away and can’t go away is the appearance of Russian athletes, many of whom were supposed to be banned, and so many of whom will compete here under the symbol of OAR — Olympic Athletes Representing Russia.

There has already been one incident with Russian team members and there are expected to be more. On Thursday, the head of the OAR delegation complained of negative treatment by a Canadian team member — who some have identified as an athlete, others have identified as a coach — and already, typically, Canada has apologized, although knowing for what and for whom they are not saying.

Here is the problem broken down to its most basic form: Russia got caught with systemic drug cheating from the Sochi Olympics of four years ago. A World Anti-Doping Agency report not only exposed the cheating, but confirmed it and detailed how it had taken place.

For a brief moment in time, WADA played the part of hero. Before it played the part of innocent bystander.

Upon WADA’s findings, the International Olympic Committee banned Russia from these Games. Sort of.

But one by one, appeal after appeal, and included in that is a ubiquitous decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sports, and just like that, there were dirty athletes back in the Games, flying under an Olympic flag of sorts. They are the OAR team — Olympic Athletes Representing Russia — just no flags, no countries logos, none of that.

Almost 200 athletes will represent OAR here, many of whom are … oh, hmm … of dubious distinction.

So tension is more than understandable here. So many of the world’s best athletes didn’t trust the Russians and their ways prior to these Games. Athletes tend to know who is and isn’t dirty. If you’re Alex Harvey, for example, the great Canadian hope at crosscountry skiing, you are well aware of how the field changes when the competitors are clean.

Harvey is a candidate to take home more than one medal from here. But he knows — really, all the top contenders know — who they believe in as clean athletes and who they have no belief in.

And right now, who speaks for the clean athlete?

WADA hoped to, but couldn’t. The IOC is more about playing politics than it is about doing the right things. The cheats can go to the Court of Arbitration — and Russia destroyed so much evidence that those athletes found a way back in upon appeal.

The dopers get a day in court. The clean athlete is forced to believe in a system that has no system.

And so there is tension as there was between a Canadian and a Russian. And there will be more tension. And there will be words spoken. And there will be accusations made — privately or publicly — just as there has been at every international sporting event of the past 40 years. Only this time, there was a reason to believe. A reason to hope change was coming.

Canadians have lived through doping and self examination for the Ben Johnson escapade of 1988. We have been overly vigilant in our views for years now, but those views seem more and more trampled on over time, especially in a case as one-sided as this should have been.

We are, historically, a polite people — born to say thank you before we even say mama — but now we’re being pushed. And now, even for a day, we’re pushing back. Because we see something wrong. And something that could have and should have been corrected.

The Canadians should continue to be loud and belligerent on this subject. Others should join them. If WADA and the IOC and the Court of Arbitration won’t speak for the clean athletes, won’t protect their best interests, somehow has to keep fighting. And damn it, there’s no reason for anyone to be apologizing here. It’s our nature to say sorry. Just not this time. ssimmons@postmedia.com twitter.com/simmonssteve