The Summer Olympics have been played under the threat of terrorism. But incivility has replaced danger as a story here.
Gymnastics has turned into a macho fight between the International Federation of Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee over the validity of Paul Hamm’s all-around gold medal.
These Olympics also have seen Iranian judoist and gold-medal favorite Arash Miresmaeili refuse to fight his Israeli counterpart.
It has seen two respected basketball coaches, Larry Brown and Mario Pesquera, bark at and nearly fight with each other.
More Top Picks Best Emergency Radios With Phone Charging
It has seen an Austrian triathlete of Australian descent sprint past a woman from her old country, win the gold medal and then watch her defeated foe sit, angry, arms crossed, during a press conference.
“I didn’t know it would be like this,” U.S. basketball player Carmelo Anthony said of his Olympic experience, which has included fans booing his team every chance it gets. “When we play, we go against the five players on the court and the fans. It’s tough, but you deal with it.”
U.S. Olympic Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr said: “As stewards of the Olympic movement, we all share a responsibility to protect, not sacrifice, the interests of athletes.”
The responsibility to carry on professionally has been lost in the fighting. Brown and Pesquera proved that Thursday night.
The two went to shake each other’s hand. A finger-waving, shouting, do-you-want-some-of-this confrontation ensued. After trading press conference barbs with Pesquera, Brown collected himself.
“Hopefully, I’ll learn to handle these situations a little better,” the 64-year-old coach said.
A little dissension is nothing new to the Olympics. It’s not like incivility began here.
“The boycotts of 1980 and 1984 were not fine moments,” Olympic historian Harold “Rusty” Wilson said.
“In 1972, after the infamous U.S.-Soviet Union basketball game, the U.S. lost and refused to accept their medals. Track has provided some moments people associated with the Olympics aren’t proud of. At every Olympics, there’s going to be controversy.”
The hope is that amazing feats and amazing acts of sportsmanship override the negativity.
That did happen during a medal ceremony for women’s beach volleyball. The gold, silver and bronze medalists all hugged and hugged and hugged.
But such moments are rare.