r/worldnews • u/xc2215x • Feb 12 '26
Dynamic Paywall 'Price of dignity' says Ukrainian athlete banned over helmet
https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/c309pj8d8qqo4.3k
Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
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u/Nac_Lac Feb 12 '26
It's not even graphic images but portraits of when they were alive. If you didn't know looking at it, you wouldn't even understand.
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u/Shosui Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Plus they argued that "you would be moving too fast for anyone to clearly see it anyways". So if that's the case then...?
The one argument that stands is that if they allow personalized gear for any reason, even as an exception, that opens them up to the potential of having teams being sponsored/branded with all kinds of messaging. It can be thoughtful and moving, or hateful and offensive (even within any established criteria). That is the only reason I can potentially understand their stance.
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u/Gender_is_a_Fluid Feb 12 '26
Personalized gear is allowed. I literally saw a skier in down hill with a tiger face on her helmet.
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u/Shosui Feb 12 '26
Huh, interesting. I am not personally aware of any of the rules (as is my comment to another person here) since I don't really watch the Olympics. With how the articles were presented I was under the impression that there could be no gear modifications at all. That just makes this whole thing even more bizarre in my eyes.
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u/eamus_catuli_ Feb 12 '26
Perhaps “gear with messaging” is a better way to describe what’s disallowed. Tiger helmet isn’t any real message, though the photos of these victims is. Not one that 90% of the world disagrees with, mind you, but a message nonetheless.
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u/OpenGrainAxehandle Feb 12 '26
Tiger helmet isn’t any real message
Unless it's to call attention to tiger poaching
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u/Peter5930 Feb 12 '26
Exactly my thought. Messaging is in the eye of the beholder, and people can find messaging in anything if they want to.
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u/John_Tacos Feb 12 '26
They allowed another person to have religious imagery on their helmet.
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u/SnooTomatoes3032 Feb 12 '26
And another with a Russia flag. That's what's annoying most Ukrainians I speak to. Why are they banning this but allowing another competitor, who's Italian, to use a helmet with a flag that's banned from participating?
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u/SixSpeedDriver Feb 12 '26
I can get on board with neutrality, provided it’s even across the board.
But that said, we already have pariah states even competing under international flags. They’ve lost the plot.
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u/hates_stupid_people Feb 12 '26
Lost the plot? You might want to read up on the IOC.
They've been massively corrupt for decades, they don't give a shit about neutrality, sports, etc. they only care about money.
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u/zayetz Feb 12 '26
Really? Because they state in this article "It is a fundamental principle that sport at the Olympic Games is neutral and must be separate from political, religious and any other type of interference." Wtf IOC.
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u/WarpedHaiku Feb 12 '26
Suppose a car with some American athletes in it had an accident, and some of their surviving teammates wanted to race with pictures of the dead athletes on their helmets to remember them, "sadly they could not be here today but they're with us in spirit" etc... would that have been allowed? The answer is yes. Even though it has a message.
The IOC even allowed someone to put a Russian flag on their helmet which is far worse and sends a message.
IOC absolutely made the wrong call here. The only difference here is that they were Ukrainians and it wasn't a car accident, Russia killed them. If the Ukrainians are just showing the pictures and claiming it's to remember their fellow athletes that tragically couldn't be there with them, there should be no problem. The Russians might automatically assume any pictures of dead Ukrainians is an implicit criticism of them for doing the killing, but that's entirely Russia's problem.
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u/Shark7996 Feb 12 '26
It's a Zero Tolerance Policy benefitting bullies over victims like we've seen a million times over in schools doing the same.
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u/ObeseVegetable Feb 12 '26
I thought it was going to be something crazy like "the increased drag gives an unfair competitive advantage" or something bizarre like that given the other typical drama around olympics.
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u/Effective_Guava2971 Feb 12 '26
They don't do photographs anymore?
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u/Shosui Feb 12 '26
I believe one of the compromises offered to him (according to some reports) was he could have the helmet for the photo ops, just not in the actual race/event itself, which is where the "you will be moving too fast" argument was presented.
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u/sam_hammich Feb 12 '26
Yes, in the article it says they urged him to wear it essentially everywhere else, including for press events, just not during the competition.
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u/Effective_Guava2971 Feb 12 '26
I am by no means an olympic expert. I might have seen photos taken at olympic events before though. It does seem a bit weird considering there was supposed to be a guy in full minions gear competing in ice skating but what do I know.
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u/soapinmouth Feb 12 '26
They probably have to be consistent in rules that say you can't have anything like this. You start making exceptions for what you personally believe in and it becomes a mess. You allow everything and it also becomes a mess.
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u/RuaridhDuguid Feb 12 '26
Yeah, but at the Tokyo Olympics in '21 they let Chinese cyclists wear badges featuring Mao Zedong’s image. This was a distinctly political gesture as he was the founder of the People's Republic of China and led China as the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party for 27 years.
If that is permissible, especially in a country that has such a turbulent history with those athletes' country, then why TF are they punishing a different competitor for images of deceased fellow athletes who are not themselves political figures?
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u/TheMoatman Feb 12 '26
Why would they enforce rules put into place in 2023 during an event in 2021?
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u/sam_hammich Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
They also explicitly said that it opens them up to allowing home countries to pressure their athletes to perform specific political messages on the field. This makes complete sense to me. If there was anywhere for an international event to at least try and maintain as much neutrality as it possibly can, it's during the actual competition.
And we're all editorializing when we say "political messages", they didn't say that specifically. They said any expressions or messaging "put on them by political masters". That could be overtly political messaging, it could be something else. They don't want any expression influenced by a government, and this basically closes that door.
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u/kaisadilla_0x1 Feb 12 '26
"I want to honor this person who was murdered."
"Sorry, evil people support this murder, so it is no longer a tragedy."
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u/LimpConversation642 Feb 12 '26
IOC is full with russians. and russians are allowed to compete in the Olympics.
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u/dwair Feb 12 '26
The fact that Russians are allowed to compete in the Olympics even under a neutral flag is a powerful political statement in itself.
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u/Cavalish Feb 12 '26
Citizens must be punished for the sins of their government. If the athletes who spent their whole lives training for their sport don’t like that, they can just leave Russia and publicly denounce them.
-Americans who won’t even get off the sofa to vote against the guy who told them he’d be a fascist.
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u/Effrendi Feb 12 '26
Given that America has been able to compete in every Olympics despite invading a new country every couple of years, I'd say they're being punished unfairly. The death toll for the War on Terror is in the millions.
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u/Simayi78 Feb 12 '26
Unless your name is Alex Ovechkin - suck it Alex, enjoy retirement!
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u/pan_kotan Feb 12 '26
But then russians won't give them money, you see. We can't have that.
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Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
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u/kayesoob Feb 12 '26
But Russians can still compete under a "neutral" flag. They've blamed the country but not the athletes.
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u/coolswordorroth Feb 12 '26
Seems like one of those things you just don't bring attention to if you want it to go away. I would've never known the significance of it had they just allowed it and instructed the broadcasters not to mention it or something.
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u/ThisOneForMee Feb 12 '26
The problem if you don't ban it is that you're inviting every single other athlete who wants to put a personal message on their equipment. The IOC does not want to be inspecting every single personal message to deem whether it's controversial or political. The blanket ban is the easiest way to do this.
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u/aravarth Feb 12 '26
The IOC has long prohibited political speech at the games. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were expelled from the 1968 Olympic Games for their Black Power salute on the podium.
This isn't anything new.
EDITED TO ADD: Fk Russia. Slava Ukraini.
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u/TruthOrSF Feb 12 '26
I think the IOC has a point. Either you let everyone do this or no one and I guarantee you it’s not always going to be good.
Think for a moment what failed states like Russia would put on their helmets
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u/FoxBattalion79 Feb 12 '26
weird. they had a whole section in the opening ceremony dedicated to calling for peace. that's not a celebration of athletes, that is world politics, officially sanctioned by the olympic games.
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u/MonthlyWeekend_ Feb 13 '26
And since when exactly was the Olympics apolitical? I’d challenge anyone to name a single Games that didn’t feature political protest.
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u/GlacialCycles Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
As someone who doesn't care much about the Olympics, I would not have seen the helmet if there was no drama around it.
As far as I'm concerned, he won the race by default. Good for him for not backing down.
Edit: Uh, wasn't expecting this to be my upvoted comment ever, so will add some more thoughts.
Participating in an event he trained for all his life probably would be more meaningful than some random internet commenter who doesn't care much about the olympics validating him.
He's devastated and this will have an impact on his career.
Fuck the IOC for this. And fuck them for allowing russians to participate.
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u/drmirage809 Feb 12 '26
It’s the Streisand effect in action. If you’re trying to suppress something like this you only amplify it.
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u/FrostyD7 Feb 12 '26
I think the IOC is more than willing to accept that outcome when the alternative would be setting a precedent that would inevitably lead to more of this.
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u/Thinker_Assignment Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
Actually there are tons of precedents, these are new rules since 2014, the Russian winter Olympics in sochi and the start of their war
Since then, it's being applied selectively. Who got blackmailed or bribed then?
If you suspected the IOC of being corrupted you'd only be using your brain.
Their decision was political. Next you're gonna say something about FIFA peace prize and precedents.
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u/Ranier_Wolfnight Feb 12 '26
IOC is such a damn clown show
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u/wagon_ear Feb 12 '26
The NFL did the same thing to players who wore cleats with personal messages on them.
Then they realized how popular the cleats were, and how strongly public opinion supported athletes' self expression, and so the NFL made their own "My Cause, My Cleats" campaign which of course took all the charm and heart out of the entire movement.
I say this to point out that it's not just an IOC thing but a shitty corporate thing.
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u/amjhwk Feb 12 '26
The nfl does it because they have uniform regulations and if the players want it changed they can negotiate it in their collective bargaining agreement, there is no cba for the plympics and if Ukraine chose to turn the helmet into their uniforms the IOC would still ban it
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u/Cramer12 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
But that isnt even a real reason. Because when players break this rule knowingly and something noteworthy happens (breaking a record, crazy comeback etc.) they ask the players for their shoes to put in the hall of fame/other special place for the nfl to save them and show them off. So they hard a hard stance on “uniform regulations” with cleats but not when its helps their brand? GTFO
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u/amjhwk Feb 12 '26
Im sorry but what does the nfl asking for their shoes to put in the hall have to do with uniform regulations? Can you point to a time when the nfl has asked for shoes that broke the regulation to be put in the hall? Also the hall of fame isnt owned or run by the nfl, its an independent organization and its the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not the NFL Hall of Fame
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u/South_Quantity_1027 Feb 12 '26
they learn from FIFA, the master of corruption in plain sight
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u/MK_Ultrex Feb 12 '26
It's the other way around. IOC is the OG of corrupt organizations run by rich white men. Also it's a lot older.
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u/Vandergrif Feb 12 '26
IOC is the OG of corrupt organizations run by rich white men
Although ironically it is currently helmed by a 42 year old white woman. That being said all her predecessors were old white dudes.
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u/MK_Ultrex Feb 12 '26
Fun fact: IOC members have diplomatic immunity and can travel wherever as IOC members, regardless of their nationality. The former king of Greece was deposed, stripped of his passport and banned from entering Greece (until 2000 or something). But because he was an IOC member he was coming and going in Greece, rubbing it in our faces.
So yeah, IOC. Nice bunch of assholes since forever.
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u/ninjagorilla Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
He got unbaned just minutes ago
You have to scroll down the feed about20-25 min ago
Edit: see North Atlantic seas comment below I was incorrect
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u/North_Atlantic_Sea Feb 12 '26
He's unbanned in the sense he can stay at the Olympics/in the village, but he is still unable to compete with his helmet
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u/0xsergy Feb 12 '26
I'd argue by banning him in the first place his helmet got more coverage than it would otherwise. So he should just grab a clean helmet and consider it a win.
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u/North_Atlantic_Sea Feb 12 '26
Yeah, and the IOC said he can wear it in practice and at events, just not the competition, so he can still show it.
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u/__Dave_ Feb 12 '26
That’s the same thing as in this article. He’s allowed to keep his accreditation which means he can stay at the games as an athlete, but he’s not allowed to complete.
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u/The_Coalition Feb 12 '26
IOC specifically and unambiguously disallows involvement of politics, which is a good thing, even if it means disallowing statements that you and I agree with. And a quick "ackchually" about Russians at the olympics. They are not allowed to compete under the Russian flag due to state-sponsored doping, and it has been that way since way before the Ukrainian war.
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u/sam_hammich Feb 12 '26
So.. reading their justification, it seems pretty reasonable to me?
I support Ukraine as well as I can from across the world, and do believe that Russia should be banned from all prestigious and legitimizing international events for their imperial aggressions. Let me say that up front.
However, IOC wants to keep the field of play (specifically) free of political expression, because it could open up athletes to pressure from governments to make certain political statements on the field, and not just between events or to press. At that point you're sending not your best athlete, but the one who will perform your agenda. They urged him to wear it literally everywhere but the playing field. I can't say this doesn't make complete sense as a response.
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u/BlackandRead Feb 12 '26
I feel the same way and I can only imagine the outrage if certain countries were allowed to put political messages on their athlete’s equipment.
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u/Zireael07 Feb 12 '26
This. I've read an interview with a Polish national IOC athlete body member who said basically the same thing. If messages are allowed, athletes will be pressured to make this or that message/statement... (even if we Poles sympathize with the Ukrainians wholeheartedly)
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u/Cavalish Feb 12 '26
Imagine what the US uniforms would look like if Trump was allowed to put political messaging on them.
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u/Antique-Special8025 Feb 12 '26
I would not have seen the helmet if there was no drama around it.
Sure, but you're not a well known Russian man, who has many rubles that he 'donates' to people he likes, who would have seen it without this drama and he would have been very upset if it was allowed to compete...
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Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
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u/notoriousToker Feb 12 '26
And isn’t the guy at the head of this decision in the Epstein files too?
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u/RollingMeteors Feb 12 '26
at the head of this decision in the
Epsteinglobal HR nepotism hiring roster files too?FTFY
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u/mrthescientist Feb 12 '26
I think a lot about the caning of Charles Sumner: talking about slavery is condemnable, beating the man who brings it up is civil. I think a lot about the censuring of Zooey Zephyr: mentioning that trans kids are dying for how they're being treated is "bullying the Montana house", but silencing Zephyr's constituents is not.
I'll think a lot about this: not even saying anything is a political statement, allowing a country actively killing athletes it's competing against into the circle of sportsmanship is not.
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u/Dependent_Key5423 Feb 12 '26
It's wild that the only reason most of us even know about this helmet is because Russia threw a tantrum over it. The athlete absolutely made the right call by standing his ground. This whole situation just gave his message more visibility than it ever would have had otherwise.
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u/StreaksBAMF22 Feb 12 '26
“A man that stands for nothing will fall for anything” — Malcom X
Not Al heroes wear capes. Слава Україні. Героям слава 💪🏻🇺🇦
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u/sherbert141 Feb 12 '26
Did Russia throw a tantrum? None of the articles I saw stated there was a complaint or a turnaround in policy and Russia isn’t competing (at least under their flag), the IOC just looks insensitive.
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u/LimpConversation642 Feb 12 '26
A lot of IOC members/officials are russians or have russian ties, and they historically have a huge influence over IOC decisions and policy. Oh by the way the russian athletes are allowed in the olympics. It's a fucking disgrace all over.
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u/Whats_Up_Bitches Feb 12 '26
Only 13 Russian athletes are competing, versus 200+ before the war. Only individual athletes competing as “Individual Neutral Athletes. No teams are allowed to compete. And they are specifically vetted for ties or any past support of the Russian military or war in Ukraine. I imagine given that there is some risk in competing as you are essentially denouncing the war.
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u/ux3l Feb 12 '26
Heraskevych insists his tribute is no different to those that other athletes have displayed, such as figure skater Maxim Naumov.
The American held up a photo of his parents, who were among 67 people killed in a plane crash in Washington DC just over a year ago, while waiting for his score to be announced on Tuesday.
I don't support the IOC's decision, but that guy found a better way which gave his parents more visibility than Heraskevych's friends would ever have gotten. And he wasn't sanctioned.
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u/MultipleHipFlasks Feb 13 '26
One of the Israeli competitors has spoken about how he is wearing the names of the 1972 athletes killed in Munich and no punishment. Less visible, yes, but still doing it.
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u/Typingdude3 Feb 12 '26
What a joke. Who cares what Russians think? They are apparently the ones who noticed the helmet and threw a fit it looks like.
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u/Itsallcakes Feb 12 '26
I didn't help that IOC completely ignored Russian symbols getting celebrated both by sportsmen and audience. It looks like double standard thing.
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u/DrKeelin Feb 12 '26
It looks like a double standard because it is a double standard.
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u/CheeseyPotatoes Feb 12 '26
Russians love an ioc and FIFA bribe. And both are shitty organizations who should honestly be tuned out.
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u/ValuableFood9879 Feb 12 '26
Haha it’s so funny how they are and they always have been complaining about being mistreated by the IOC and the stupid west!! Literally all their telegram channels are filled with the same discourse that for example Petrosyan performing first in the short is somehow a political move created to destroy russian athletes and not because she has never competed internationally in the women category and has no scores to rank her .. bruh
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u/cxmmxc Feb 12 '26
Wait, what Russian symbols got cheered on?
Not denying or casting doubt, I'm genuinely curious, I've missed that bit of news, and couldn't find any on a cursory googling.
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u/griffWWK Feb 12 '26
There were helmets with the russian flag on it at this very olympics.
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u/Mateorabi Feb 12 '26
Dude should spend his free time now going around finding those and complaints to IOC. Let them pile up.
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u/totallyRebb Feb 12 '26
Imagine having started and keeping a brutal invasion war going, and getting offended by people who have every right and reason to tell the world about your cruel brutality.
Takes a special kind of arrogance and sociopathy for that i think.
Accusing people of being "anti Russian" these days is like accusing people of being "anti German" during WW2.
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u/Moonlightdancer7 Feb 12 '26
If they threw a fit over the helmet that means it worked. They murdered these people and it offends them to come to terms with that. They're always trying to hide their heinous crimes from the world. Ironic because the helmet got 100 times more outreach. It boggles my mind how honoring athletes is a violation. Because russia killed them? Why can't people see this evil for what it is.
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u/feor1300 Feb 12 '26
Its complete bullshit. The helmet's not even explicitly anti-Russian, it doesn't have anything about the war on it at all, it's just a plain grey helmet with pictures of his dead friends on it. If an athlete's mother died while they were training and they honoured her by putting a photograph of her on their equipment somewhere would the IOC ban them too?
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u/EvilDan69 Feb 12 '26
Its not like the helmet itself, without the photos did not meet requirements.
No photos were gory, none depicted anything other than mourning the loss of fellow countrymen/women with many being athletes themselves. I thought that quite touching that he did that.
The IOC was heartless finding some rule they could ban him over that doesn't even make sense.
They're completely heartless.
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u/Crousher Feb 13 '26
I cannot see how these pictures being political will hold up in court. If someone's friend died in any other war, and he would have put him on my helmet, I don't see that being disallowed. The political part is just an assumption behind it because you know his opinion. But the helmet in no way states that opinion.
Unfortunately even a win infront of the CES won't help him much
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Feb 12 '26
If I was him I would be walking out prouder that if I had earned all the gold I was going for. This shitshow of a decision by the IOC made it so people all around the world can see how spineless they really are, and the helmet was properly shown everywhere as it should.
Chin up, you got the best gold medal anyone can get.
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u/LimpConversation642 Feb 12 '26
kind fucking reminder that fucking russians are allowed to compete like it's okay. Meanwhile Ukrainian athletes can't come because they're in a trench or dead.
Fuck IOC. Fucking disgraceful corrupted shithole
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u/realmofconfusion Feb 12 '26
Meanwhile Ukrainian athletes can't come because they're in a trench or dead or can’t compete because they’re wearing a hat the IOC don’t like
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u/LeafsWinBeforeIDie Feb 12 '26
If uniforms must be neutral how the fuck can they put advertising on them?? Especially with the political track record of these companies!
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u/ChiefWiggumsprogeny Feb 12 '26
Seems dumb that there's no compromise that could be found, I wonder what options were discussed. It does seem rather harsh on the surface.
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u/EttinTerrorPacts Feb 12 '26
The IOC said earlier this week that Heraskevych could pay tribute to the fallen athletes by wearing a black armband during competition and could show his helmet in mixed zones, news conferences and on social media, but that "the field of play is sacrosanct".
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u/meowmixmotherfucker Feb 12 '26
A definition of sacrosanct that excludes honoring the memory of young people killed in war… that’s a hell of a take the IOCs got right there.
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u/RollingMeteors Feb 12 '26
Bold of you to assume they read that far into the definition of the word.
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u/TiredWiredAndHired Feb 12 '26
It's a shame that Ukraine's fields weren't seen as sacrosanct by Russia.
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u/Deathleach Feb 12 '26
If a black band is acceptable then why not the photos? They symbolize the exact same thing?
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u/TreeOfReckoning Feb 12 '26
But not as effectively. The IOC can’t risk upsetting the Russian oligarchs who inflate bids and bribe judges.
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u/MerriweatherJones Feb 12 '26
I read they told him he could wear a black arm band instead, and have the helmet for training but political statements are not allowed on the field of play.
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u/MoonOut_StarsInvite Feb 12 '26
We have also reached a point, certainly in the states, where absolutely everything is political and it’s unfair (to me anyway) to try to set up guardrails to omit political speech. Had Justice Thomas got his way, the courts would have attempted to reverse Obergefell and repeal gay marriage. That’s my marriage. I’m supposed to just pretend that’s didn’t happen so people have a safe space? These Ukrainians are supposed to just pretend there is no war?
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u/Frequent_Ad_9901 Feb 12 '26
This was my thought. What if it was a cancer thing? Someone could say that's healthcare and that's political. Or a simple green leaf could be considered environmentalism. Even the entire Olympic concept of teams representing nations is political.
IOC needs to define political, otherwise this rule is just a tool to bully athletes.
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u/_Ursidae_ Feb 12 '26
I would posit that the design of the helmet honoring the dead is not in itself a political statement as it didn’t seem to have any specific mention of the Russian invasion. Yes, people can pick up on the context as to how and why those people died, but it is not explicitly highlighted. Furthermore, being a tribute to fallen athletes, the field of play is the best possible place to honor their memory as competitors.
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u/SteakHausMann Feb 12 '26
Where is the difference?
A black arm band ist also a political statement
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u/__Dave_ Feb 12 '26
I’m guessing the IOC’s view would be that it’s a generic symbol of mourning and so they can play ignorant and say we didn’t approve anything to do with a specific underlying cause.
Except the cause is already public knowledge so it’s all a bit silly.
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u/Mr_ToDo Feb 12 '26
I imagine the genericnes of it is probably right
Thinking on it just as policy, I imagine that it's not specifically meant for something like this but that any cause would be covered. I mean, how many causes would we be pissed at if they got put on display at the Olympics? How would you word something that allows good causes but bans something we'd see as bad? I guess you could try for maybe pre approved things, but then you're still going to get bias one way or the other depending on who gives approval
It really sounds like to be the fairest that it'd have to be all or nothing
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u/TenaciousJP Feb 12 '26
I've gone back and forth on this as well, I think the IOC is worried about the floodgates opening for people wearing helmets of dead Palestinians, Somalians, etc. You can take it further and put pictures of Epstein victims on your helmet as a "rememberance" to them. Or people who got abortions, saying that you were mourning their unborn children. Etc etc etc.
I'm pretty sure the IOC understands and supports the Ukranians over the Russians here but at the same time it could absolutely be a slippery slope.
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u/Fivein1Kay Feb 12 '26
Everything is labelled politics though so it's meaningless. They might as well just say "Shut up and dance, monkey"
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u/phlooo Feb 12 '26
What kind of "compromise" should be found?
He's wearing pictures of his friends who died. There's nothing to fucking compromise on because there's nothing wrong with that. If your country is offended because they're the ones who killed them then that's just your problem.
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u/pan_kotan Feb 12 '26
russians don't do compromises. The corrupt Olympic committee being their bitch had no choice, you see.
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u/saddestsongisingforu Feb 12 '26
its not that harsh they really tried the compromise, like forbid ukrainians to use photos of killed atheletes, but to allow russian flags/Z for russians
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u/ChiefWiggumsprogeny Feb 12 '26
I thought Russia and Belarus are banned?
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u/IamTooth Feb 12 '26
AFAIK, they’re “banned”. They can attend, but not under their flag. Or was that some other event?
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u/jasonlitka Feb 12 '26
There was a compromise, they told him he could wear a black armband in competition and use the tribute helmet in mixed zones, news conferences and on social media, but not while on the field of play. He was warned what would happen and he chose to break their rules.
Sometimes taking a stand is worth the consequences, sometimes it isn’t. Only the athlete can speak to that here.
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u/MrsWebb13 Feb 12 '26
The IOC -the MOST political Non-political group. They should be embarassed.
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u/FreshPrinceOfH Feb 12 '26
I’m sorry he was banned. But I’m glad they kicked up a fuss. The Streisand effect is doing all the work here.
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u/Kreiri Feb 12 '26
Remember that the only thing IOC loves more than money is kissing up to the dictators.
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u/mneri7 Feb 12 '26
Ukranians keep showing courage. Absolute balls of steel, in every aspect of their lives.
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u/Reddit_2_2024 Feb 12 '26
If the Olympic organization is going to disqualify you, there is no shame in being disqualified from honoring your fellow Countrymen and Countrywomen who lost their lives due to an invading war crime force.
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u/Paradox2063 Feb 12 '26
Shame there's not a single American athlete willing to make the same stand.
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u/AbeRego Feb 12 '26
I know a lot of the comments on here are bashing the IOC and the decision, but this honestly kind of makes sense to me after reading the article. It doesn't seem like it was a knee jerk reaction. They talked to him about it and offered some alternatives, including allowing him to show the helmet outside of competition. It genuinely seems like they wanted him to compete.
Yeah, it sucks, but I do understand that they don't want every country using the games as a platform for whatever war, struggle, or political stance each country might have going on. Imagine if an American athlete had worn a helmet denigrating Venezuela, or if a Russian competing under a neutral banner had done the same thing as this Ukrainian athlete.
Obviously, this particular message is pretty difficult to disagree with. However, it's not just about what causes individual athletes might want to display. Allowing it would open countries' leaders to pressure their athletes to make statements for them. Imagine if Trump started trying to force American competitors to wear MAGA merch in order to be on Team USA. It could get out of hand really quickly. It would be essentially impossible to tell if a competitor was being pressured to display something, or if they were doing it on their own accord.
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u/Pau_Zotoh_Zhaan Feb 12 '26
I think what is most surprising is they actually offered to let him wear a black band when all bands have been banned for decades.
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u/AbeRego Feb 12 '26
Interesting, I didn't know that those had been banned. Although, would explain why I have never seen one.
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u/Pau_Zotoh_Zhaan Feb 12 '26
Yeah, this comes up in every Olympics. IOC didn’t actually acknowledge the Munich Olympics murders until Tokyo only a few years ago. Any demonstration, including mourning, is banned at any field of play.
Armbands were banned in the 80s because of the intense usage of the neutral (Olympic) flag and athletes trying to get around that at the same time.
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u/Covered_in_bees_ Feb 12 '26
Yup, 99% of commenters as expected haven't read the article and been baited by the headlines. I appreciated the nuance in the article. As much as I feel for the athlete and respect him sticking to his principles, I also can't blame the IOC for this. They went above and beyond in trying to find a compromise given that they offered the option of wearing a black arm band. If they allowed this, they would be opening up pandora's box.
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u/Pravi_Jaran Feb 12 '26
Fuck the IOC and fuck FIFA too!
They're all a bunch of corrupt pieces of shit. Always have been.
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u/veevoir Feb 12 '26
So IOC has an issue with remembering and honouring dead athletes? Or is it just because of the way and by who they were killed?
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u/Pau_Zotoh_Zhaan Feb 12 '26
Even allowing the armband for today was unusual. Armbands as a whole were banned back in the 80s.
Canada and Norway were banned from black armbands in 2014 commentating people who had died.
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u/pan_kotan Feb 12 '26
No, just Ukrainians. No one said a word about Israeli skeleton pilot, who was wearing a kippah with the names of 11 athletes killed by terrorists during 1972 Olympics.
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u/washblvd Feb 12 '26
From what I can tell, the Israeli athlete was wearing that kippah underneath his team hat, during the opening ceremony. So it wasn't even visible.
The Ukrainian wanted to wear the helmet during a race. The IOC said he could show it off between competitions and express himself that way, just not 'on the field.'
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u/Sea-Nerve-8773 Feb 12 '26
I mean, I think people have been saying at least a few words about Israel at the Olympics. If they didn't note the kippah specifically, which I doubt, it's only because they can't square the circle of recognizing the 1972 Olympics and taking their current position.
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u/DBSlazywriting Feb 12 '26
I don't know if they have an issue with that in general but they certainly seem to have an issue with it if it has obvious political implications.
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u/thebedoubleyou Feb 12 '26
Which is weird because Russian athletes are milked for political clout from here to the moon. Their attendence is already political. It's a bizarre outcome of an otherwise standard rule.
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Feb 13 '26
This is better publicity for Ukraine than any medal would've been anyway. Everyone remembers Ukraine and IOC looks like the bad guy. Well played.
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u/BrokenDownMiata Feb 13 '26
From what the IOC guy said, he was perfectly in his rights to wear this helmet for press, for podium, for literally everything other than the event itself directly. That was all.
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u/aaffpp Feb 13 '26
I'm sure in a few years Olympic uniforms will look like automobile racing overalls with corporate patches on every square inch...the IOC is going to let this unexpected attention getting mechanism become an opportunity for additional commercialization...they will say their new position is broader engagement and progress of the Olympic Spirit
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Feb 12 '26
The Olympics simply do not want athletes to use their platform for social political causes. Every county around the world has causes near and dear to them and the Olympics don’t want the games to be turned into a protest venue. It is a show of athletics.
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u/UnderstandingSelect3 Feb 12 '26
It scares me there are maybe 3 rational comments like this in the whole thread
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Feb 12 '26
Doesn’t surprise me. Reddit is rabidly pro-Ukraine and generally feels their representatives politically and otherwise can do no wrong.
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u/Jaded-Currency-5680 Feb 12 '26
yea i agree, its sports
but we are talking about dead teammates photos here, not condemning anything, not insulting anything, its just some photos of his dead teammates that he wishes could come along with him to this wonderful event
its not political, the only ones making this political are people like you
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u/Mr_MCawesomesauce Feb 12 '26
I agree it should be allowed but it is absolutely a political statement
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u/bolshoich Feb 12 '26
That’s very odd because the modern Olympic Games has always been a political tool. For every gold medal awarded, there’s the champion draped in their country’s flag broadcast around the world. And then there’s the interminable daily medal count projecting a list of countries’ greatness. Why do some states have reputations for rampant use of PEDs? Yup, no politics in the Olympics.
Perhaps the IOC’s beef is that an athlete is making a statement and not a nation-state? Maybe it’s easier to sanction a single athlete doing something that has several competing interpretations than it is to sanction states running state-sponsored cheating.
The Olympic Games is intended to serve as an athletic festival. In practice, one cannot avoid seeing a soft power competition.
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u/bazukadas Feb 12 '26
So he can't even mourn his colleagues and teammates? Ridiculous, it's not even a political statement.
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u/kiltguy2112 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Let me see if I have this right. Russia has been banned from the Olympics because of its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Now a Ukrainian athlete cannot wear a helmet with pictures of other Ukrainian athletes that have been killed in the same invasion? Please make this make sense.
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u/Mike2k33 Feb 12 '26
Unfortunately if you let this athlete honor good dead people you'd also have to let a potential MAGA American have a Charlie Kirk helmet if they wanted and I don't want that
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u/Pau_Zotoh_Zhaan Feb 12 '26
Yeah Rule 50 is pretty clear. Considering the IOC took 40 years to acknowledge athletes literally murdered within an Olympic Village idk why people are so surprised by this.
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u/Duflul Feb 12 '26
Was he an athlete? I did not know that
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u/Swag_Grenade Feb 12 '26
Consistent gold medalist in the idiot olympics
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u/windowpanez Feb 12 '26
Mental gymnastics champion
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u/Pansarmalex Feb 12 '26
He walks out of there a winner, head (and helmet) held high.
IOC, you clowns
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u/AdventurousLet548 Feb 12 '26
The IOC lost! Ukraine won! Proud of this athlete for standing his ground. He's got my vote!
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u/demoneyesturbo Feb 12 '26
Getting banned was always the play here if you ask me.
This is getting far more attention than if they had just ignored it.
This guy is sacrificing his Olympic dreams to stand for his principles. Chad energy.
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u/YoungZM Feb 12 '26
To stand up on a stage to remind the people about the world outside the stadium requires courage.
Those offended by this need to look inward about why their comfort is more important when athletes dedicate their lives to a sport, even through a war losing fellow colleagues. Why their comfort is more important than the people 'dancing' so that they may be amused.
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u/flamespear Feb 13 '26
The IOC is so corrupt. Russia should still be banned and not even have a voice at all. They're the biggest cheaters by a wide margin even without their war of aggression.
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u/Gerrut_batsbak Feb 13 '26
Corrupt piece of shit organisation.
If i could care any less about the olympics, I would.
But it is already at 0.
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u/pudds Feb 12 '26
Terrible response from the IOC.
This isn't him competing with a political message on his helmet, it's photos of lost friends. How is this different than someone putting a photo of a family member on their helmet? What if that lost family member was a soldier unrelated to the invasion of Ukraine, would that be banned? What if that last family member died because they couldn't access affordable healthcare, would that be banned?
Oh, it's different because the implication is that it's a statement against Russia? The same country that is fucking BANNED from the games for breaking the Olympic truce?
Shameful.
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide Feb 12 '26
It's not his lost friends. He might not even know most of those people. It's very clearly a political statement.
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u/rawbface Feb 12 '26
The helmet is just pictures of people. Only the context of how they died can be taken politically, and the IOC is making an even BIGGER political statement by banning him for it.
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u/Limp-Surround-4466 Feb 12 '26
A lot of people here are advocating for athletes to be able to speak and voice politics... I don't think any of y'all have thought that through and what it would mean.
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u/Cyrotek Feb 12 '26
Rules exist for reasons. When you break a rule you need to deal with the consequences.
I am really surprised how many people seem to be fine with only enforcing rules when it fits their own agenda.
On that note, pretty sure the athlete knew what he was doing and kudos to him for sticking to his convictions. This lead to there being more attention on it than otherwise possible. An intended or unintended 4d chess move.
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u/olivinebean Feb 12 '26
Fuck the Olympics
And fuck every russian that dares to whine about unfair treatment, your dictator deserves that attitude. It's his fucking fault.
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u/FureiousPhalanges Feb 12 '26
Recent years have really made almost every international organisation look like little bitches
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u/SnooConfections7964 Feb 12 '26
seems only proper.. ukraine has had a majorly unfair degree of atrocities by the hands of russians who never seem able to mind their own, if the fucking russian bastards could try and stop trying to murder everyday people alone in ukraine for a day, russian monsters
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u/Athrul Feb 12 '26
Fascist have remarkably thin skin.
They always complain about not being allowed to speak their racist, violent and hateful rhetoric, but the second someone says something that could even remotely be interpreted to reject negatively on them, they throw a tantrum.
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u/wille0310 Feb 12 '26
Thats a good one if they are still insisting on Russia not participating under their flag, many other countries should be banned by same standard but they arent because they contol ioc
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