Staff Reports
The Olympics have once again waded into a quagmire of controversy, this time on the icy battlegrounds of the ice dance final. With all the grace of a hippo on roller skates, a French judge at the games is being accused of putting a thumb—or perhaps a whole forearm—on the scales. Allegations suggest this judge doled out suspiciously enhanced scores to their own French team while unceremoniously dropping Team USA’s chances by awarding them lower scores than any other judge dared. This audacious maneuvering nudged the French team to the top of the podium, out-gliding Team USA to clinch the gold.
For Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the skaters who wowed with their impeccable performance, one might wonder if overcoming biased scores was included in their training regime. Despite the result, they held their heads high, expressing satisfaction in knowing they delivered their best. This is sportsmanship, a concept seemingly as foreign to some judges as trying to avoid surrendering in a French military exercise. The pair’s ability to take the high road in response to potentially unfair treatment has earned them immense respect and, in the eyes of their supporters back home, they’re considered gold medalists anyway.
The saga unfold on Outkick.com with Dan Doitch, host of “Don’t At Me,” sharing his analysis. He underscored the notion that bias in Olympic judging is anything but new. Name a country with a judge, and there’s likely a story of alleged favoritism going back decades. From whispers about the Russian judges during the Cold War to this recent spectacle involving the French, it seems like Olympic judging could be due for an overhaul. After all, no one tunes in to witness human creativity in bending the rules. It’s supposed to be the pinnacle of fairness and competition—not an exercise in nationalistic showmanship trying to channel its inner Napoleon.
As the International Skating Union scrambled to defend the integrity of their scoring system, they cited it as normal for scores to vary. Their “full confidence” in the fairness of the Olympic process would be comforting if not for the glaring disparity which stuck out like a sore thumb—or shall we say, like a French croissant at a doughnut festival. The Union seemed oblivious to the notion that these scoring shenanigans are turning an esteemed event into little more than a global reality show, complete with its own peculiar version of a suspenseful elimination night.
In times past, observers have often blamed “the Russian judge” for marks that favored their home country, especially during the frosty days of the Cold War. But, as Doitch aptly mused, in this instance, it’s the French who landed the punch. America has long been a favored enemy of convenience, and as long as passion for patriotism teeters into scoring disputes, such controversies might keep coming back like an uninvited guest to a formal event. In today’s world where tabloid antics seem to pervade even the noblest of arenas, maybe it’s time for some Olympic-sized self-reflection on what true sportsmanship means.
