Newest Olympic sport

Yes, of course, there are more developments in the Russian Olympics saga.

Will the newest Olympic sport be "confrontation"? The IOC has said public demonstrations will not be tolerated. The US Olympic Committee has urged athletes to obey the anti-propaganda law. Yet athletes, such as Johnny Weir and Blake Skjellerup are clear they will conduct small gestures of protest no matter the personal cost. What happens when IOC and athletes clash?

The IOC has backed human rights issues. In 2012 they took on Muslim countries who wanted to leave female athletes at home. The London Olympics were the first Games with women on every national team. Alas, the cost of supporting gay athletes and human rights for gays is still higher than the cost of buckling under Russia's laws. So the strategy for now is to ride out the storm.



Pride House (an international coalition of gay athlete organizations) and United for Equality in Sports & Entertainment (UESE) are now campaigning heavily to change the Olympic Charter to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the anti-discrimination clause. Not only might that help stiffen a few spines in the current standoff, it means that a country's human rights record on gays will be considered when a country submits a bid to host the games. Persecute gays and no Olympics to burnish your image.

Though I wonder, with China's bad record on human rights (and not just for gays), how Beijing got the 2008 Games.