Two major news events have surfaced in the last couple of days, and although they’re related to sports, they carry a bit of political flavors as well.
One is the decision by Major League Baseball (MLB) to add the Negro Leagues (1920 – 1948) to MLB records and statistics. While I’ve often viewed actions toward “righting wrongs” of the past as superficial (team name and pancake syrup name changes, to name a couple), this particular action was long overdue.
The Negro Leagues existed during those times because blacks were simply not allowed to play in the Major Leagues. Not until Jackie Robinson was admitted to the majors in 1947 was that color barrier, not to mention horribly racist practice, eliminated… and baseball became fully integrated.
By all accounts, many of the players and much of the baseball played in the Negro Leagues during its time was of equal or superior quality to that being simultaneously played in the Major Leagues. So basically I’m very happy that they finally righted that wrong. It took until 2020… but better late than never.
The other major news to surface in the past couple of days involves the upholding of a ban on Russia from competing in international sports, including the Olympics, due to multiple doping offenses. This comes as no surprise, since Russia has been notorious for allowing its athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
According to the ruling, Russian athletes who can show they were not implicated in the doping scandals will be allowed to compete… but not under the Russian flag or national anthem, but rather as neutrals. The Russian ban was reduced from four years to two, but is still being praised in many circles.
I personally agree with the ban, as it has been blatantly obvious to me in the past that some athletes are clearly doping… and that to me is a totally unfair advantage and should not go unpunished.
Memories of pictures and videos of East German women swimmers in past Olympics are only too vivid in my mind. Frankly, they looked like muscle-bound men. This topic is one I could write a single article on… and probably will in the future, as the problem of PEDs is especially worrisome in contact sports, which of course puts the life and health of other athletes in danger.