At the moment, under the term Russia, completely different images creep into our minds than the moments full of euphoria immediately after the successful independent escape of the skillful attacker of the Russian national team. According to the IIHF, Russians and Belarusians are currently excluded from international events mainly due to concerns about the safety of the athletes. Yes, of course, that can be one point of view, but there is definitely a second point of view, which the IIHF is silent about for reasons that are incomprehensible to me.
Namely, playing hockey against the Russian national team, while Russian President Vladimir Putin murders hundreds of Ukrainian athletes without batting an eye, is extremely immoral. Moreover, he does all this only because of his confused idea of the size of Russia, without realizing that something quite different defines the size than the Russian flag flying over a destroyed Ukrainian city.
The athlete is not Putin, but…
The other side of the coin are Russian athletes, currently ice hockey players, who are not allowed to represent their country at the World Ice Hockey Championship. The first possible insight is that they have nothing to do with how their homeland is presented. Unfortunately, this is only half true. No, neither Alexander Ovechkin, nor Yevgeny Malkin, nor any other Russian gunner or goalkeeper are certainly giving orders for war. But they are icons.
Russian icons that the entire sports world looks up to, and these examples are immensely appealing. If they took part in an international event under the Russian flag, they would make a huge advertisement for all of Russia and its expansive appetites. And that, in my opinion, is absolutely beyond the bounds of morality. Today, it is necessary to give priority to common sense and insight into the world over the art of the Russian hockey masters, even at the cost of losing a top team in the tournament.
A different situation would arise if the Russian hockey players openly opposed the actions of the Russian Federation. At this point a dramatic turn would occur. Admired idols would suddenly represent completely different values. Even ordinary Russians beyond the Urals would perhaps begin to doubt the correctness of the steps of the beloved Vladimir Vladimirovich, that is, if this voice was allowed to travel as far as their modest mountain dacha.
Unfortunately, only a few Russian hockey players were able to publicly and clearly condemn the actions of Russia beyond the borders of their eastern neighbors. Perhaps only the tall Calgary Flames guard, Nikita Zadorov, was able to express real disapproval of the killing of the people of Ukraine, which certainly cannot be said about the biggest Russian star, Alexander Ovechkin. That’s really a shame. This legend, who is still playing today, would really be heard.
Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Alex Ovechkin visiting Vladimir Putin
It’s hard to judge these guys though. None of us have any idea what their open condemnation of Russian aggression would mean for their families, friends and themselves. It is probably not surprising that none of them wants to see their father or brother with a machine gun in their hand in the front line. And that is also probably why most Russian professionals take a neutral stance, saying that they are athletes and not interested in politics. Whatever the truth, it is certain that ordinary people watching the hockey World Cup should not be presented with any form of propaganda for the criminal regime of Vladimir Putin. Therefore, the issuance of a stop sign to Russia and Belarus by the IIHF is clearly appropriate.
Putin’s senseless spree in Ukraine will one day end. However, the question remains how Russian athletes and indeed all Russians will continue to be perceived in the world. When and if Russian NHL or KHL fans will ever be able and willing to forgive their belonging to the country that unleashed the biggest hell in Europe since the Second World War. It is truly sad to see how far the influence of what one or a few old men with a distorted view of the world can cause in today’s world.
