IOC under fire over Nazi-era Olympic Games t-shirt | CNN
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been criticized for selling merchandise commemorating the 1936 Berlin games, which Adolf Hitler used to showcase his Nazi ideology.

The website for the Olympics — currently in the spotlight due to the ongoing Milan Cortina Winter Olympics — features a men’s T-shirt marking the controversial Nazi games. The garment, which is showing as “out of stock,” is part of the IOC’s “Heritage Collection.”

The T-shirt features the original poster for the 1936 games, designed by Franz Würbel. It depicts an athletic male figure crowned with a laurel wreath and with the Olympic rings in the background. The Brandenburg Gate sits beneath him, with the caption: “Germany Berlin 1936 Olympic Games.”

    • D_C@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      82·
      12 hours ago

      Yes, that’s -another- bad look for the IOC.

      I will say though that initially I sided with the athlete over the IOC about the pictures and helmet, mainly because I’m very anti Putin.
      However he shot himself in the foot with not wanting to compromise.

      If what I saw in the press conference about it all is true then they, the IOC, told him he could wear it everywhere except the run. On the podium, in interviews, at the start of the race, and after the run his trainers could give it to him straight away so he could have it whilst waiting for his times etc etc. In the village. During training. Everywhere.
      The only place he couldn’t wear it was the actual competitive runs.
      Which is apparently what the athletes and their governing all voted for years ago, that the area of competition is free from everything other than the sport in question so everyone can feel safe.

      Yeah he caused a bit of a drama about it all, but he could’ve got a lot more exposure if he’d agreed to not wear it during the runs after the initial furore. Plus he’d not look like he wants special treatment to be allowed to wear it.
      If you flip the script and had a ‘neutral’ russian have a picture of their dead family member on their helmet then everyone would’ve gone nuts. And rightly so.
      I appreciate that the Russians are the aggressors in the war, but the point still stands that no one should get special treatment on a stage that should be as balanced, safe, and fair as possible.

      Now, with all that said, I also don’t think that the Russian athletes should be there at all, even under the neutral banner. Allowing that to happen softly legitimises Russia and Putin and their antics.
      And that also goes for Israel, and other aggressive countries.

      Basically it should be:
      Is your country at war, invading, undertaking a special operation etc etc at or with another country, and is your country the aggressor? If yes then you can’t compete unless you change nationalities. If you win any medals or break any records then they will be removed if you go back to your original nationality.

      Make it impossible for the war mongering genocidal countries to gain any soft power or accolades.