As athletes compete in the Olympics and Paralympics, we see the possibility of competition without fear or hatred. Can we all learn from their example? Turkey’s Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu, left, and Poland’s Wiktoria Choluj compete during their women’s...
Millions of people will cheer their nation at the Paris Summer Olympics. Others shake their heads at its cost. Do the Games still serve a purpose? Torchbearer Didier Drogba of France holds the Olympic torch to light the cauldron at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille,...
Are sports stars pampered youth not mature enough to handle wealth and fame? Or do journalists pick on them? The truth is in the middle. Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka attends a press conference in Osaka, Japan, 15 September 2019. (The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP...
Dogged by corruption and politics, the Olympic Games may seem outmoded. But their ideals survive, and the Games motivate athletes and excite fans. Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou lights the Olympic Torch, Athens, Greece, 19 March 2020. (EPA-EFE/ARIS MESSINIS / POOL)...
Paul Radford has covered 17 Olympic Games, and he displays his vast experience in this “decoder” that shows why the global sporting event still matters. Radford acknowledges the scandals and politics that have tarnished the image of the modern Games and made skeptics of many fans, while examining the high ideals that led to their creation. Like the Games, youth today are torn between idealism and skepticism born of frustration with their elders’ inability to resolve the world’s biggest problems. As Radford writes, it’s a tricky balance between idealism and skepticism.
Exercise: Organize a debate in class on the resolution, “The Olympic Games Should Be Abolished”.
Sports are emerging from the wreckage of a year of disruption not seen in 75 years. With COVID-19 still a threat, uncertainty and frustration prevail. Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, center, wears a face mask before the start of the first stage of the Tour de France...