Threats of mass boycott, pro-war podium messages, joking texts about bombing Ukrainian athletes’ families – the IPC could have been in for a PR nightmare had it not banned Russian and Belarusian athletes. Russia’s brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine just days before the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games put the International Paralympic Committee in an unwinnable position – but the IPC nearly took a bigger hit than was necessary.
At a press conference 48 hours before the event opened, the IPC informed the world that they would, indeed, allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at Beijing 2022.
The leading global Para sports organisation backtracked less than a day later – and it’s a good thing it did. The IPC could have been in for a disastrous lesson in PR management had it not reversed course.
Russian Para Athletes Allegedly Joked About Bombing Ukrainian Families
The IPC cited its devotion to inclusion – an integral concept when speaking about people with impairments – when announcing its decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete.
Thirteen hours later, IPC President Andrew Parsons said it was a “deterioration of the environment at the Athletes Village” and “safety of the athletes” that played into the IPC’s decision to change course.
It was a shocking reversal that had some on hand questioning whether a specific incident took place.
The IPC stated that “it was unaware of any specific incident”, but the message from Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee President Valeriy Sushkevych was different.
In a separate press conference that directly followed the IPC announcement, Sushkevych spoke about how governments in the aggressor nations “poisoned” their athletes with disinformation and false narratives.
“Many athletes in Russia, in Belarus have a virus. A sick mind about the war in Ukraine”, he said at a press conference following the IPC’s reversal. “It’s a very important point. Just read [their] internet communication – they say it’s OK that Ukraine is attacked.”
The following day, Great Britain’s two-time Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead told Gold Morning Britain that he had himself seen messages from Russian athletes to Ukrainians.
“I’ve heard lots of messages of indoctrination within the Russian community and messages that the Russian athletes are sending Ukrainian athletes about bombing their homes”, he told the show, before clarifying.
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve seen those and they said … bombing the families back home. It’s terrible; it’s disgusting behavior.
Ukraine’s Oksana Shyshkova, who has already won two gold and two silver medals at Beijing 2022, confirmed that the team received the abominable texts, but preferred to speak about the war back home.
“Our cities are being massively bombed”, she told the Kyiv Post. “We want to live in peace. We must stop the war. We must close the skies above Ukraine”.
Boycott of Russia
Since Russia first started bombing Ukraine on February 24th, more than 250 global companies have withdrawn from Russia.
Sporting organizations worldwide have also shunned the aggressor states, with bans on Russia and Belarus spanning the world of sports – from the FIFA World Cup and F1 racing to the International Judo Federation and International Ice Hockey Federation.
Many of these bans were led by national federations or athletes refusing to play Russia or Belarus.
For example, Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic refused to play the Russian national football team in World Cup qualifying, forcing FIFA to decide whether to ban Russia or disqualify the other three nations and put Russia directly into the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA decided on the former.
It was the threat of boycott that led the IPC to change its decision as well.
Pressure by international federations, teams, and athletes forced the IPC’s hands.
“It was a very rapid escalation, which we did not think was going to happen”, Parsons said about IPC’s decision to change course and ban Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“We did not think that entire delegations, or even teams within delegations, will withdraw, will boycott, will not participate.”
Latvia was the first to threaten to boycott games against Russia at Beijing 2022, with Estonia and Great Britain following suit.
Russian Gymnast Kuliak Makes Pro-War Podium Stance
Days later, the IPC saw the PR nightmare that could have befallen Beijing 2022 had Russian and Belarusian athletes been allowed to compete.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) learned a valuable lesson after Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak taped a ‘Z’ on his uniform when receiving a bronze medal at a gymnastics World Cup event in Doha last week.
Russian gymnast taped a ‘Z’ on his chest vest – a pro-war sign that signifies ‘victory’ in Russia – after losing to Ukraine’s Illia Kovtun at an event in Doha last week (Photo Credit: Public Domain)
The letter ‘Z’ has become a symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the letter scrawled on everything from Russia’s tanks to Kuliak’s uniform.
The ‘Z’ stands for victory in Russian, making it ironic to see as third-place Kuliak listened to the Ukrainian anthem beside Ukraine’s gold medal winner, Illia Kovtun.
The incident didn’t sit well with FIG – especially after the story went viral.
The organization condemned Kuliak’s “shocking behavior” and banned Russia and Belarus from all future competitions. FIG also announced that it is considering stripping Kuliak of his medal and suspending the athlete for an indefinite period.
Many Russian tanks bear the letter ‘Z’ that has now become a popular pro-war symbol in Russia. (Photo Credit: Public Domain)
IPC Dodges a Bullet
So, instead of a toxic Athletes Village, repulsive texts, mass boycotts, and pro-war podium politics, Beijing 2022 has been able to focus on the stories of competing athletes.
And it’s Ukraine’s Paralympic team that is providing one of Beijing 2022’s biggest stories.
Despite dealing with kidnappings, bombings, and daily reports of death back home, Ukraine’s Paralympic team continues to impress, already winning 19 medals amid the turmoil.
At the same time, the IPC has allowed its prestige winter sports event to focus on what matters at a sporting event – the athletes.
Russia’s athletes, meanwhile, will compete in a Russian-only “Paralympic Games” later this month.
No word yet on whether any athletes will boycott that event….
Kyiv Post reporter Lee Reaney questions IPC President Andrew Parsons after the IPC announced Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to compete at Beijing 2022. The IPC reversed its course the next day. (Photo Credit: Kyiv Post)
