Olympics Unfair to Banish Strategic Badminton Players

One of the biggest controversies from the first week of the 2012 London Summer Olympics was the dismissal of eight women’s badminton players for reportedly “violating the Olympic ideal and spirit of fair play.”

It seems that the majority of people agree with the International Olympic Committee’s decision to exclude the players from the remainder of the games, however, I certainly do not.

I understand that it seems ridiculous to attempt to lose in any sporting event and I also understand that people paid good money to see this event and the result was not what they expected. However, I don’t support the removal of athletes from the games when they didn’t do anything against the rules. Yes, these badminton players were throwing their games, but it wasn’t written anywhere that they couldn’t.

This was the first year that Olympic badminton included a round-robin format instead of a win-or-go-home format. This meant that teams could lose and still compete in the next stage of the tournament. In fact, the way things were going losing could help out a team because the team with the worst record plays the team with the best record first in the quarterfinals. When a surprising team beat a high-seeded team in the round-robin stage it set up a scenario where teams were intentionally trying to lose to face the expected weaker team that had won.

That may sound confusing to some, in fact it’s a little confusing to me, but what it boils down to is that these eight athletes, or four doubles teams, were playing the best strategy they could think of to succeed in the games.

Some people have called their actions cheating, but that is an extreme over-exaggeration, in my opinion. If you’re not breaking any rules than you’re definitely not cheating. This is simply an example of athletes being punished for making the best of a bad system. I’ll be surprised if the round-robin format returns to Olympic badminton in the 2016 games, because it can lead to this type of controversy, but as long as it is a part of the format, athletes shouldn’t be banished for manipulating it.

Despite IOC, Costas to Properly Memorialize Munich Massacre Victims

The 2012 London Olympics mark the 40^th anniversary of what is likely the most tragic and disturbing event in the history of the games and sports, in general. It marks the anniversary of the 1972 Munich Massacre in which 11 Israeli athletes at coaches died at the hands of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. 

Despite the anniversary the International Olympic Committee (or IOC) has repeatedly said that they have no plans to pay tribute to the murdered Israeli athletes, which has angered many around the world, especially those in Israel.

I think the decision by the IOC shows a distinct lack of class on their part, but they don’t want to play politics and potentially anger other nations. However, I’m happy to say that NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas doesn’t give a damn about what the IOC has to say on the subject. Costas has told media outlets that he plans to honor the fallen athletes and coaches from 40 years ago with an on-air tribute during Friday night’s Opening Ceremonies on NBC Sports with a moment of silence. Not only will Costas memorialize the Israeli athletes, but he said he also intends to note the “baffling denial” by the IOC during the event.

I’ve always given Bob Costas a hard time in the past, because I’ve often felt like he thinks he’s the show more so than the sporting events that he covers. However, I’ve got to say that I’m very pleased with his intentions for the Opening Ceremonies. The IOC has chosen to do the wrong thing, in my opinion, and Costas is doing his little part to right that. Good for him because the tragedy that occurred in Munich in 1972 is something that should never be forgotten for if it is it might repeat itself.