The other day I was posting about Russia getting a year ban for doping, tempering with evidence, covering up and so on. This is the result of several years of investigation, it's not something out of the blue or unexpected. Russia has been banned before, athletes were forced to compete under an independent, or neutral flag. The decision came after minutes of deliberation which means there wasn't much to think about, the evidence was clear and convincing.
This four year ban is a big deal as it's unprecedented and it was all over the news the other day. Today I was reading an article about Russian boxers planning to boycott the Tokyo Olympics. This comes from the general secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation who told this to The Associated Press on Wednesday. They say they won't participate unless the ban is lifted. To be honest, this made me laugh. Who do they think they are? Do they think blackmailing is going to work here? They thought the World Anti-Doping Agency will make a statement saying because threats were made, they are changing their decision and letting Russia participate with flag and anthem.
Separately, the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament said Russia could create an alternative to the Olympics. source
They can definitely do that, the question is who on earth would drop the Olympics and participate in an event created by those who broke very possible rule on earth. Looks like they fail to realize or admit what they have done over the years, repeatedly.
They also say boxers are clean and honest and they are forced to take the blame for others who were doping. I don't know how clean Russian boxers are but on thing is for sure. Everyone is punished, everyone is going to suffer regardless of what they did or didn't do. These are the consequences and Russia should have thought about this before they started doping and tempering with evidence. I bet no one has tried to talk to the sport minister or some Russian authorities to ask them to stop doping.
This case reminds me of a weight loss competition we had some time ago on a social media platform with a few other people who wanted to lose weight. We were not the same category, some were overweight and some were obese. The rules were the same for everyone but because they were carrying more weight, they could not get the same results as the others in fitness. So instead of working harder, they asked for the rules to be changed to be easier for them. This is definitely not the right approach.