You may dislike or disagree with Jacek Bartosiak, described by his admirers as “the first geopolitician of the Republic”, but it cannot be denied that he contributed to the broadening of public debate in Poland. And it was the author of “Rzeczpospolita between the sea al ± dem” who introduced the term “mind maps” to wide waters. In short: it is a systematic perception of the world that reflects the image we have of it. We then follow these maps in our conduct.
When it comes to sports, because I write this on sports websites, we are dealing with such a mental map, for example, in football. It is known that only big clubs count: Manchester, Barcelona, Real, PSG etc. Anyone who thinks of creating more equal games, forcing big clubs to be a bit smaller, will be considered a moron. Even in countries that could benefit from it. It is unimaginable for us that a Polish club, for example, can participate full-time in the Champions League automatically only because the Polish fans also deserve something. These are the mental maps of sport.
Thomas Bach suspended Russia and Belarus with grief¶
Let’s go back to these supposedly shameful or shocking remarks Thomas Bach. The President of the International Olympic Committee said: – We excluded the athletes from Russia and Belarus with a very heavy heart, because the decision was made against people who did not start this cruel war and are not part of it responsible. Athletes should never be victims of the decisions of their own government, as this places us in an insoluble dilemma.
Then he added: – Now, unfortunately, the situation has become so peculiar that we have had to refuse certain athletes only because of their passports. Today it Russia and Belarus, but if we allow politics to interfere with sport, it might be one of you in a moment.
These words of course caused consternation in the audience at the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Seoul. Surely many delegates thought, “Is he crazy? Does he think that Sweden suddenly starts bombing Norwayand the Italians will invade Corsica in a moment? For it is only in such a case that one can seriously consider the words: “in a moment it may be one of you.”
Everyone believed that sport changed the world for the better
However, I approach Bach’s words with greater understanding. Old mind maps are used by him. Maps where there was no division between good and evil, and the Olympic Movement was a place where bandits could lend a hand to potential victims.
After all, who is Thomas Bach? He is a German florist who won Olympic team gold with the German team in 1976. Before that, he was vice-world champion, then world champion in the same competition. His sporting career was marked by the boycott of the Moscow Olympics, to which Germany did not send athletes due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Bach did not do so again as a competitor until the next Olympic Games. He retired in 1980 at the age of 27.
Then, as a lawyer and sports activist, he saw the Berlin Wall fall, the divisions between East and West blur. The belief in the superiority of liberal democracy and the welfare state over other regimes was so widespread that it was felt that it was only a matter of time to change the rest of the world. It is enough to be an example, to trade, to open up to others and, of course, to compete with them in the field.
Sport played an important role here. Well-meaning activists believed that by entrusting the organization of the biggest sporting events to states that had an inherent violation of human rights in their constitution, they were leading them in the light of democracy and respect for others. And the bribes under the table made them even stronger.
Sports journalists followed them faithfully. In articles and books you can read how sport is changing the world for the better. It never occurred to anyone that today, when religion is no longer important to most Scots, bigotry and unwarranted brutality continue to thrive thanks to the Celtic-Rangers rivalry. This is just one example of how outdated divisions still fuel great emotions through sport.
She also escaped the extent to which sporting success and the hosting of sporting events enhance the power of various types of dictators.
Since the war did not change Bach’s thinking, nothing will.
But to return to Bach, it was under his youthful eyes that the Federal Republic of Germany first normalized diplomatic relations with the USSR when Willy Brandt signed the treaty in Moscow. The Russians, because the other republics were irrelevant, ceased to be enemies, then – after 1990 they returned to the European family and now had to be a very important part of it. This is how the Western European media presented it. The victory of liberal democracy was chanted. Since then, the slogan “don’t mix sport with politics” has become one of the most important of the Olympics. After all, the subject of international relations was only one superpower – the United States. A liberal democracy that could not go wrong in military interventions.
These are the mind maps that Thomas Bach’s generation grew up with and surely passed on. Hence his words. And if the war in Ukraine has not yet plowed these cards, nothing will change.
The IOC has repeatedly acted against the slogan of not mixing sport with politics
After all, he could draw on the past of the committee he chairs. It was clear to the IOC in 1919 that GermanyTurkey, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria must serve their sentences for starting the First World War, and the athletes of these countries were not invited to Antwerp, tormented by the actions of the German armed forces. This is where the 1920 Games were held.
For one of Bach’s predecessors – Henri de Baillet-Latour – it was inconceivable that the evil empire, that is to say the Soviet Union, could be part of the Olympic movement. With reciprocity. The Communists did not want to participate in the bourgeois games.
In 1948, the IOC again mixed politics and sport, when it did not invite the Germans and the Japanese – the aggressors of the Second World War – to the London Olympics. At that time, no one asked the question that not all Germans were Nazis and that Japanese sportsmen suffered from the faults of politicians.
The Second World War, however, upset mental maps. The bloodthirsty dictator responsible for the deaths of millions has become “Uncle Joe” in the West. KGB and Stasi officials, still filled with sports activists and athletes from Warsaw Pact countries, shook hands with Western beauties and together proclaimed the slogan: We don’t combine sports with politics.
And remembering how smoothly Józef Wisarionowicz’s transformation into Western European media went, it’s impossible not to take Bach’s words seriously: “In a moment it may be one of you”.
Take the list of IOC and FIFA sponsors. Follow the great growth of these biggest sports organizations thanks to the money from China, Russia and other non-democratic countries. Look at how many activists from these countries have a real influence on the activities of many sports associations. Western European companies are increasingly reluctant to show their logos at competitions in Qatar, Saudi Arabia or any other country that does not respect human rights. They easily cede the ground to the Chinese. Do you think the Emir of Qatar accidentally sent a warm letter to Vladimir Putin on the eve of the FIFA World Cup? The words “The West is no longer in power”, which he uttered in an interview for Sport.pl prof. Simon Chadwick almost a year ago, they reflect the situation well.
So let’s plow through our mind maps. Bach seriously warns us. The next fired could really be us. After all, one can choose to stay in the CIO led by the Saudis, Chinese and Russians.
