Sunday, February 14, 2010

Olympic officials cruel to blame victim


Olympic officials do not want the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili to overshadow the Winter Olympic games in Vancouver, but their "blame-the-victim" mentality is just cruel.

In the third paragraph of their official statement, Olympic officials heartlessly blamed Kumaritashvili for failing to correct a late exit from a curve. It's a tasteless stance to take mere hours after the athlete's death. Even if he did make a mistake, it should not have been fatal. Moreover, Kumaritashvili wasn't the only athlete to have trouble with the track and that should have been an indication that there were major problems that should have been dealt with.

I also find it hard to believe that law enforcement officials could have conducted and completed a thorough investigation less than a day after the terrible tragedy. It seems more like an attempt to deflect blame. It is cruel and disrespectful of the pain and suffering being faced by his family, friends and fellow Georgian athletes.

I hope Olympic officials right the wrong and properly acknowledge some responsibility for the tragedy. But I suspect it will be a cold day in hell before they do.

Thanks to Tabercil via Wikipedia for the photo.

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