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The dangers of sportswashing for the Olympics
Could the Olympics ever be free of politics? | Sally Jenkins | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The dangers of sportswashing for the Olympics

Should there be a limit on foreign investment in professional sports? Sportswashing—when a government uses sports to improve its country’s reputation, distract from human rights abuses, or political controversies—has become a major problem in athletics and pro sports. But can governments do anything to stop it?

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Could the Olympics ever be free of politics?
Could the Olympics ever be free of politics? | Sally Jenkins | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Could the Olympics ever be free of politics?

Should politics play a role at the Olympic Games? The International Olympic Committee insists the Games are non-political, but in practice, that’s never really been the case. From boycotts to political protests to national scandals, politics always loom large at the Olympics, and the 2024 Paris Games are no exception.

Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about how politics and sports overlap at the Olympics and beyond, including the IOC’s troubling coziness with authoritarian countries like China and Russia. Jenkins points to the Olympic Truce and the history of international cooperation at the Games but also stresses that this Olympics is taking place amid one of the most divisive political eras in decades. Despite the controversies and geopolitical tensions at the games, she says it is the athletes themselves that “scrape the grime” off the Games and make them so inspiring. The effort and commitment to compete after training for four years, she says, is one of the “great competitive miracles we all get to watch.”

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The politics of the Paris Olympics
The politics of the Paris Olympics | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The politics of the Paris Olympics

As the political drama ramps up in the US, Democrats have acted with remarkable speed and solidarity to pass the torch to VP Kamala Harris. At the same time, the world’s most elite athletes are gathering along the Seine in Paris to light a more literal torch, of the Olympic variety.

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