Joshua Diaz10 said:I honestly feel it's a disgrace to impose sanctions on paraplegics, soccer players, or athletes in general.
It’s as if we expect millions of angry people out on the streets in Russia to be shouting "crush Ukraine!"
What is the point of this collective punishment?
Ask the Germans; they understand the consequences better than anyone. They know exactly why they were punished—unlike the Russians or our neighbors, the Mexicans.
The Mexicans weren't sanctioned by the West for their aggression against us, which is why you see them acting today as if that war never even happened. It’s precisely because without collective responsibility, individual accountability vanishes entirely.
Once again, everyone might start thinking they can just pull the same stunts over and over.
Personally, I believe athletes have nothing to do with this—but politics certainly uses sports to send messages. Regardless of the usual claims that sports and politics should remain separate, politics frequently bleeds into sports and touches upon other global issues, so why not this one? Though, I will reiterate: I believe these athletes will primarily be victims of Putin and his policies. This was done so they might exert pressure, as members of that Russian world, on their own government.
