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Originally Posted by valo403
That's really the thing I'm struggling with myself, at what point does it tip to being enough of an issue to use the Olympics as a foreign relations tool, and if it would be effective to do so. While I consider gay rights to be an important issue I don't know that it's the hill you'd want to die on, but that leaves me asking what would reach that level, and I'm not coming up with a definitive answer. Like you said, in an ideal world you take these countries to task for what are some serious abuses, but there is much more to consider than that.
I think the onus falls on viewers to put the pressure where it will actually be felt, the pockets of sponsors. If Visa gets enough pressure maybe future games take things like this into consideration. Athletes have the ability to be the public face of that pressure. I'd love to see an American athlete make a statement against Russian policies, which would be a brave move seeing as the Russians could certainly take action against them.
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At a sponsor level it makes sense, but the clothing sponsors for the Olympics probably make $100's of millions on the Olympics. the Credit Card companies do as well. The broadcasters make huge bank on selling advertising.
Plus if lets say ABC bowed out and refused to live up to their contract they'd get sue'd into out space.
Unless Russia goes to war the nations of the world won't boycott.
I think it falls to the individual to boycott, the sponsors are too big to care.