The head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, has a long time, well-publicized friendship with Putin. This was a decision begrudgingly made and even still: not that harsh when you think about it, as “clean” athletes can still compete. So the team will still be there, but with different uniforms.
I’ve recently returned from living in Russia and the stench of corruption in just about every sphere of life from public institutions to the most menial of business transactions is disheartening and eye-opening.
When the Putin regime finally crumbles, the Sochi Olympics will serve as a primary case study for the kind of country he built and oversaw in his decades in power. It’s incredible how sweeping, how murderous, how dishonest, how expensive, and how FAKE and RIGGED the whole thing was.
Also worth analyzing is how Russia used the games to fuel the nationalistic frenzy that launched the annexation of Crimea and the War in Ukraine. Which is still going on of course.
And above all: you can bet all those “globalist elites” were and continue to be in on the action (and the money of course.) Please don’t kid yourselves that Putin and his oligarchs are sovereign defenders of their people or hah! Of the Christian faith (Putin’s latest schtick) just because of a few anti-gay laws. Puh-leeze. They exploit their own people as they’ve exploited their athletes to fatten their pockets and themselves. Their accounts can be found in Western banks that fund much of the global elite. The oligarchs are part of the globalist elite! And their real estate holdings include swaths of New York and Miami for starters.
I watched the documentary Icarus. If that can be trusted, then yes, the ban is proper.