Is it time to scrap the Olympics and start all over again? Many would say yes to that proposal, especially after the botched games about to begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Doping revelations out of Russia casts shadows on past medal performances by that country, an athlete’s village of 31, 17-story towers, deemed by some teams including Australia as uninhabitable, and will put up their athletes in hotels instead.
Brazil is facing its greatest recession in 100 years, while the Zika virus has become epidemic in Brazil. All of this has caused a long and growing list of the world’s top athletes dropping out for fear of sickness or even their life.
With the scandals of bribery and kick-backs systematically employed by the Olympic site selection committee and top brass as well as serious judging inconsistencies, it is becoming clear that the world’s biggest sporting event has become seriously infected with corruption of all kinds and at every turn. And is so deeply rooted, that nothing but a complete remake from the ground up will heal it.
Considering the political climate around the world being in such a state of dangerous flux, and with deadly acts of terrorism happening around the world in recent history, maybe giving it a rest for a while is a good thing.
That is a much easier decision to make for us Olympic fans than it is for an athlete who has worked, and worked hard, for four years to get ready to represent their country on the world stage. But many have weighed the thrill of victory against agony of serious illness, or even death.
In my mind, even the medal winner’s achievements will be tarnished with the knowledge that many of the world’s top athletes did not compete.
In the past there have been boycotts, but never before have so many top athletes turned away from the Olympic spectacle.
Oh, and when they rebuild the Olympics, I hope they include lacrosse as a full-medal sport and get rid of sports that are so obscure that only those who participate in them really care about.
Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport globally and needs to be recognized as a world sport.
