Are you familiar with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)? Yeah, me neither. At least I wasn’t until the last two weeks when they controversially interspersed themselves into the Winter Olympics.
It started when Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned substance, She should have been immediately disqualified from skating in the Women’s Figure Skating event. In fact, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did exactly that. An appeal was then filed. The CAS overruled the IOC and allowed Valieva to skate. Their reasoning was all the evidence had yet to come in at that time. They were also concerned that not allowing her to compete could do damage to her mental health.
Their decision affected every skater in the competition. We saw how that turned out. At the end of the event, all four of the top skaters were in tears. So much for caring about athlete’s mental health,
Next, the CAS became involved in another controversy involving the Team Figure Skating medal ceremony.
The Russian team easily won this event. But, the awarding of the medals was held up due to Valieva’s positive drug test. Sitting in limbo were the United States and Japan teams that finished second and third in the even. Getting up on the medal podium is something these athletes have worked their entire lives to achieve. It looked like these two teams were going home without their silver and bronze medals.
The United States filed an appeal. The case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They met for more than two hours yesterday. The appeal was denied. The U.S. and Japan skaters will not only get their opportunity to stand on the podium, but they’ll also be going home empty-handed.
No medals will be awarded until the case against Valieva is decided. That will most likely take months. What harm would have been done if the two teams had been allowed to take home their current medals? I’m sure if it turns out they get the higher award, they would have no issue with turning in the medals and trading up. But, once again the CAS rules against the best interests of the athletes.
The 2022 Winter Olympics ends today. The good news is the work of the Court of Arbitration for Sport will also end. See you folks in four years. You won’t be missed.
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