By wpengine December 5, 2001
Recently, President George W. Bush rejected a plea from International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge to institute a cease-fire on the bombings in Afghanistan during the upcoming Salt Lake City Games. To President Bush: Thank you, for defending the sovereignty of our nation and for having the courage to show the world that we are deeply resolved to fighting terrorist who threaten our very existence. To Mr. Rogge: Your not fooling anyone. For a man heading an organization engulfed by greed and corruption, you certainly should have more pressing matters to attend to. But before taking the next bribe from some city official bidding on the Games, perhaps you should think twice before using the United States to divert attention away from the true problems facing the future legitimacy of the Olympics. Until you can manage your own agency, please refrain from proffering such international mandates as, “We will, as usual, call for an Olympic truce,” adding, “We believe that sport is an answer to violence.” Mr. Rogge, a man whose ethical bankruptcy may only be surpassed by his predecessor Juan Antonio Samaranch (who always held himself to the highest standards of integrity) clearly seeks to delude the public. While attempting to promulgate the idea that the Olympics engender a spirit of international harmony and peace, his call for a halt to military action masks the corporate-dominated, greed-infested spectacle the Olympics have become. The United States should not be asked to jeopardize its national security for the Olympics. First, the Games no longer represent global cooperation; more aptly they have become profit-driven and frequently platforms for contemporary political conflicts played out in athletic competition. Second, the IOC has a hideous record of allowing countries with the most egregious human rights records to participate and in fact permits the participation of many countries engaged in long term wars. Finally, the experiences of the 1936 games and the 1972 Munich Massacre illustrate the utter antithesis of Rogge’s assessment. Holding aside the millions of dollars that have flown out of city coffers in fruitless efforts to host previous Games, an examination of the record shows the even the IOC itself, regards the Olympics as little more than a money making enterprise. By its own account each set of winter and summer games reigns in $10 billion. In 1983, no doubt in an effort to promote global peace, Rogge oversaw the establishment of a New Sources of Finance Commission. Its primary goal? Capitalizing on the profit possibilities surrounding the Olympic Rings — “the most valuable unexploited symbol in the world.” In 1996, the IOC drew in $400,000,000 in sponsorship revenue, to say nothing of a new $3.5 billion television deal. These the actions of a man who unabashedly proclaimed the Olympics to be “the most important contemporary social movement.” Moreover, the competition at the games has mirrored world conflicts. One need only look at the intense rivalry between the Russians and the Americans during the Cold War period. For years, Eastern Bloc countries spent inordinate amounts of resources to train their athletes to defeat the hated Western democracies. The deep-seeded Arab-Israeli conflict was fatally reenacted at the 1972 Munich games, when terrorism claimed the lives of eight Israeli wrestlers. The call for the cease-fire was an outrageous act of hypocrisy. I understand that Mr. Rogge and others, might have a hard time coming to terms with the fact the United States has an unconditional right to defend itself against aggression (even if with force [gasp]). It amazes me that given this concern for the conditions of humanity, that he would permit nations like North Korea into his sacred Games. There’s a model country for the world: an unscrupulous dictatorship whose leader denied a French missionary group access to a starving group of children in 1999. This says nothing of Libya, a country whose government had been cited for “summary executions” of its citizens, which is invited. How also does Rogge explain the inclusion of such countries like Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Angolia and Somalia who have been involved in perpetual states of war. Shouldn’t they also call for a cease-fire? Historically, the Olympics have always turned the cheek on far worse international situations than the current war in Afghanistan. In 1936, it was deemed acceptable to hold the games, in Munich. Why should it matter that as Hitler watched the games, millions of innocent people were being tortured in ovens in his concentration camps? I wonder how the Olympic officials forgot to ask him to stop the genocide. In 1972, five Palestinian terrorists perpetrated an unspeakable massacre in the Munich Olympic Village against eight Israeli athletes. A day-long ordeal ended with the terrorists bombing the helicopter used to transfer the athletes who had been taken as hostages. Even after this blood bath, the Olympic officials simply proceeded with the games, prompting one reporter to compare such actions to “having a dance at Dachu” Apparently the Olympic officers in charge of the Munich games, interpreted Rogge’s call that “sports are an answer to violence” in the most literal terms. Archived article by Gary Schueller
By wpengine December 5, 2001
If things keep going the way they are for the men’s basketball team (1-5, 0-0 Ivy), head coach Steve Donahue will have to start participating in his team’s practices. On a 13-man roster, only 10 were healthy enough to take part in a full practice yesterday, leaving just enough players to run five-on-five drills. Freshman Gabe Stephenson was the first one to fall to injury. On Nov. 1, in a scrimmage against Niagara (2-3, 0-0 MAAC), the power forward broke the fifth metatarsal on his right foot. Classmate Chris Vandenberg was the next to go. On Nov. 28, a day before the team was to take on national power Syracuse (9-0, 0-0 Big East), the 6-10 center went down in practice with a dislocated left patella and torn calf muscle. Then just two days ago, the frontcourt took another hit as junior Jake Rohe turned his right ankle late in a Cornell win against Ithaca (2-3, 0-0 Empire 8). Now the status of the team, which was uncertain going into the season thanks to a majority of freshmen on the roster, is even cloudier. Vandenberg’s injury is the heaviest blow to the team. In the preseason, he played for the Canadian junior national team at the World University Games in Beijing. Coming off the international play, he set a school record for most blocks in a game by a freshman (7) in the opener against Canisius (1-2, 0-0 MAAC). The rookie also led the Red in rebounding in each of the first two games of the season, and despite having missed half of the team’s games so far, is still leading it in blocks. Vandenberg’s 6.3 rebounds per game leads the Red, and his 6.3 points per game is fourth on the team. Cornell will be without its biggest player for the rest of the season. After initial projections that Vandenberg would only be out four to six weeks, the injury looks much worse than originally thought. After the kneecap was dislocated, a pint and a half of blood was drained from the joint, and now the knee looks swollen again and marked with damaged tissue. The center is scheduled for surgery on Friday. Donahue bemoaned the loss of his starting center as an asset to the Red. He also considered the emotional impact the injury has on the freshman who had just begun his collegiate career. “It will be taxing on him mentally not to be around the group as much as he would like, not being able to contribute, not playing basketball,” Donahue said. “He’s going to have to sit and watch and know that he can help us and not be able to do it.” Stephenson, on the other hand, is on the road back to active duty. He has begun practicing with the team in a limited role this week, and his official status is listed as “day-to-day.” Donahue is targeting a Dec. 22 matchup against Lehigh (0-6, 0-0 Patriot League) for the freshman’s first collegiate game. “Gabe has done a terrific job in the month. He’s been in the weight room, he’s been around here, he’s stayed involved, he’s really chomping at the bit to get back into playing,” Donahue said. Donahue and the trainers aren’t even precisely sure how Stephenson broke his toe. “Someone must have stepped on his toe, and what they think is that he had a stress fracture for a while and ignored it, and then something happened during that night that made it break,” Donahue explained. At 6-8, the Red could use Stephenson’s size to help on the glass. The Red has been outrebounded by an average of a 41-32 margin so far this year. Rohe’s injury, while not as severe as those of his two teammates, still is putting his status for tonight’s game in question. The forward had to be helped off the court after going down at midcourt toward the end of the Ithaca game. He was in street clothes for Cornell’s practice yesterday and was still limping. Rohe’s ankle injury jeopardizes his streak of 33 consecutive starts — a team best. He started every game last season and all six contests so far this year. The silver lining in the cloud is that the Red has been able to get a closer look at some of the other freshmen. “We weren’t a finished product anyway. We’re still finding out who we are,” Donahue said. “Other guys are just going to have to step up.” Cody Toppert has been the brightest spot in the rookie class, proving himself to be a threat to score from anywhere on the court, as well as acting as an offensive spark. Eric Taylor has also stepped up, averaging 7.3 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game since Vandenberg’s injury. Taylor has paced Cornell in rebounding in that time. Freshman forward Grant Harrell has also seen their minutes increase, and each chipped in with a three on Monday night.Archived article by Alex Fineman