Russia is excluded from participating in olympic events by the Paralympic Committee.

Issue: Russia’s ban on the athletes at the Winter Paralympics

Article 1 – “Russia head for court to overturn ban on athletes at Winter Paralympics.” https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/mar/03/russian-belarusian-athletes-banned-winter-paralympics-u-turn-ukraine

 

Article 2 – “International Paralympic Committee backflips on controversial call to allow Russia and Belarus to compete” https://7news.com.au/sport/winter-olympics/paralympics-bucks-russia-sanctions-trend-c-5909566

 

Following concerns of a Beijing boycott over the Ukraine conflict, the Paralympic Committee excluded Russian and Belarussian competitors.

 Earlier on Thursday, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that Russians and Belarusians would be able to compete in Beijing as "neutral athletes" without wearing national identifiers, a decision that drew significant controversy. Oleg Matytsin, Russia's sports minister, confirmed a request to allow its athletes to compete, saying the ban was "a manipulation of the Olympic charter” Russia expects the appeal will be considered promptly. Roughly 83 athletes from both countries would be impacted by the ban. Due to dispute among athletes and NPCs (national participating committees), Andrew Parsons, IPC president described the circumstances in the Beijing athletes' village as "untenable" if the ban is not implemented. Furthermore, Parsons emphasized remorse to athletes from Russia and Belarus for the IPC's judgement, “To the Para athletes from the impacted countries, we are very sorry that you are affected by the decisions your governments took last week in breaching the Olympic truce. You are victims of your governments’ actions.”

                                          

Andrew Parsons said the IPC sympathised openly with the Ukrainian people. (AP: Andy Wong)

 

This is in the mainstream media because of the result of the current situation in Ukraine, Russia has become a heated topic in the news currently. Since consumers are interested in ongoing events, both articles would be relevant to the topic and have a similar tone, as the Winter Paralympics, which is also a popular issue among sports lovers, are explored. I discovered this issue from online publications, one of which came from The Guardian and the other from 7 News, both of which are reliable and informative. Both news sites are Australian and have no bias, yet some people in both articles expressed sympathy for the athletes, saying that they just wanted to compete without any fuss. "You are victims of your governments' actions," Andrew Parsons stated. The news organisations provide crucial details regarding the situation.

                                  

The Russian Olympic Committee team walks into the stadium during the 2022 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. (JAE C. HONG/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

 

In my opinion, the Paralympic Committee, as well as Russian athletes, are deserving of my support. I am convinced that the Paralympic Committee made the right decision because it will demonstrate to the Russian government that it is capable of making significant decisions that will have a beneficial impact on their country. However, I continue to feel sorry for the Russian athletes who have been forced to suffer as a result of their government's actions. Ultimately, I'm hesitant about the whole situation.