Emily Kowalik ’18
Opinions Editor
The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics kicked off last Friday morning but the political controversy began before the opening ceremony. And no, I’m not referring to the Russian doping scandals.
USAC Olympic officials proudly reported that their sports delegation is the most diverse ever sent by the U.S. to attend the Winter Olympics. Team USA, the largest team ever sent to a Winter Olympics, is composed of 243 athletes – 10 are African American (4 percent), 10 are Asian American, and the team also includes the first two openly gay men.
In response, Fox News Executive Editor John Moody, wrote an opinion piece on the Fox News’ website that accused the Olympic Committee of seeking to make the Olympics “darker, gayer, different.”
Moody wrote “Unless it’s changed overnight, the motto of the Olympics, since 1894, has been ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger,’… It appears the U.S. Olympic Committee would like to change that to ‘Darker, Gayer, Different.’ If your goal is to win medals, that won’t work.”
Fox News later withdrew the piece, saying “Moody’s column does not reflect the views or values of FOX News and has been removed.”
Then, NBC was forced to address political comments made during its broadcast of the opening ceremony.
Joshua Cooper Ramo, an NBC presenter, attempted to bring historical context to NBC’s coverage about the significance of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo’s visit. “Every Korean will tell you that Japan is a cultural and technical and economic example that has been so important to their own transformation,” Ramo said.
Immediately thereafter an online petition was started because many Koreans found the comment offensive. The petition read, “Any reasonable person familiar with the history of Japanese imperialism, and the atrocities it committed before and during WWII, would find such a statement deeply hurtful and outrageous … no South Korean would attribute the rapid growth and transformation of its economy, technology, and political/cultural development to the Japanese imperialism.”
NBC network responded by announcing Ramo’s assignment was over and offering an apology.
Then, there is the matter of Vice President Mike Pence’s attendance at the opening ceremony, particularly when he refused to stand with the others in the VIP box when the athletes from North and South Korea entered the stadium.
Pence is taking heat on social media for not standing for the unified North and South Korean teams. Connecticut Democrat, Sen. Chris Murphy, tweeted that Pence was using ceremony at a sporting event to protest and Murphy wasn’t the only one to point out that Pence had condemned NFL players for kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
Pence warned that North Korea was trying to “hijack the message and imagery” of the event with its “propaganda,” but the South Korean Moon Jae-in, who called the event the “Olympic games of peace” seemed to welcome North with open arms.
There are many legitimate grievances about North Korea, but the Olympics is not the time to voice those criticisms.
We should support South Korea’s effort to bring the world the message of reconciliation and peace and celebrate. As the International Olympic Committee stated, the power of the Olympic stage is to rise above conflicts, break down barriers and promote mutual respect.
