Sports, Politics, and the Olympics

In the Summer of 1996 during the Olympic games held in Atlanta, a man by the name of Eric Rudolph had detonated three pipe bombs on the Centennial Olympic Park and was held responsible for killing 2 people and injuring 111.  Sources believe that the motive of Rudolph was related to the Government's sanctioning of abortion during this time.  After discovering the ALICE Pack in which the pipe bombs were being held in, security guard Richard Jewell informed the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.  Originally, Jewell had been a suspect in the crime by the FBI, but was later dismissed of all charges one year later after another similar bombing took place in 1997.  Rudolph had then become the top suspect by the FBI.

I believe that Sage and Eitzen's use of the Olympics as a site for political demonstrations and violence is best connected with this incident, specifically with Eric Rudolph's motive behind the crime.  Because Rudolph felt that our government was depriving him of something, he took direct action to demonstrate backlash against the government.  The authors suggest that "sport and sporting events were used by revolutionaries and reformers to attack racism and American involvement in Vietnam" (203).  Instead of attacking racism and our war in Vietnam, Rudolph had been attacking abortion laws in the US.

I disagree with the idea that sport is pure and free of politics.  After all, professional sport and Olympic sport are multi-billion dollar industries in which the stakeholders wish to be paid the appropriate amount.  However, I will say that early on, sport may have been more pure relative to today's sport industry; nevertheless, it has always been a business and will continue to be affiliated with politics.