ESPN: Six months to Sochi: Let them play
The only previous time the Olympics were held on Russian soil, the United States boycotted those 1980 Summer Games to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. With six months remaining before the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, some Americans are calling for another Olympic boycott.
Interestingly, these calls are coming from both the left (Tony winner Harvey Fierstein wants to boycott the Olympics due to Russia's new anti-gay laws) and the right (South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wants a boycott because Russia provided asylum to Edward Snowden, who leaked secrets from the National Security Agency). Regardless of their political views, both sides are wrong. The United States should not boycott the Sochi Olympics.
Yes, the new laws banning "homosexual propaganda" violate human rights. Yes, providing asylum to Snowden is considered by some Americans to be aiding a traitor, although a sizable number of Americans applaud Snowden for revealing just how much our government was secretly spying on us. In both cases, I understand the reasoning behind the proposed boycotts. But boycotts are justified only if they can have a positive effect on the country's policy that we oppose. Olympic boycotts never do.
"Every athlete we've worked with says boycotts hurt the athletes more than anyone else," Hudson Taylor said. "It doesn't change policy -- it only hurts the people who worked their whole lives to win a gold medal."
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http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/9545819/2014-sochi-olympics-controversy-not-competition-dominates-headlines-six-months-out