People all over the world are outraged following Olympic officials' decision to allow Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to continue to compete in the Beijing Olympics despite having tested positive for doping during the qualifying rounds in December.
And fellow Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon had a response that was instantly relatable to most of us.
In the wake of the decision, Rippon took to Twitter to post an angry thread about how he thinks the situation should have been handled, and then summed it up perfectly with just two well chosen—and very NSFW—words: "Fu*k this."
See his thread below.
If they are truly worried about the irreparable harm, set her up with proper counseling to deal with the incredibly sad situation she finds herself in and SEND HER HOME. The irreparable harm that will be done is to the entire Olympic Games. She shouldn\u2019t be allowed to compete.https://twitter.com/cbrennansports/status/1493103698125414406\u00a0\u2026— Adam Rippon (@Adam Rippon) 1644857180
Rippon, a bronze medalist in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, began his thread by addressing the most common rationalization for allowing Valieva to compete—that being sent home would be a crushing blow to a skater as young as Valieva, who is just 15.
Rippon wrote:
"If they are truly worried about the irreparable harm, set her up with proper counseling to deal with the incredibly sad situation she finds herself in and SEND HER HOME."
"The irreparable harm that will be done is to the entire Olympic Games. She shouldn’t be allowed to compete."
Rippon went on to lambaste the fact Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the first place after being banned from the Olympics since 2018 for previous doping scandals—a sentiment millions of Olympics fans have echoed in recent years.
"The entire ROC should not be here. They’ve exploited a child for results and continue to cheat and suffer no consequences."
Calling it "a complete joke," Rippon wrapped up his thread by lamenting what had been done to the women's figure skating competition overall by this decision before issuing his pointed two-word coda.
I am so angry. The ladies event tomorrow is a complete joke. It\u2019s not a real competition and it most likely won\u2019t even have a medal ceremony. So many Olympic experiences stolen from clean athletes who got here without the help of performance enhancing drugs. What a shame.— Adam Rippon (@Adam Rippon) 1644857183
Valieva is rated as the best figure skater in the world and is the only woman in history to land a quadruple salchow and a quadruple toe loop.
The decision on her doping arrived Monday after Russia's slow-rolling bureaucrats failed to bring her positive test, taken December 25, to light until weeks later after she had already begun competing at the Olympics.
Rippon is far from the only person furious over the situation.
Olympic sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who was suspended from last year's Summer Olympics after testing positive for cannabis—which is not a performance enhancing drug like Valieva's—spoke out about the decision on Twitter.
In Beijing, Valieva's competitors have politely stated their disapproval to the press, and former Olympic figure skaters-turned-NBC commentators Tara Lipinsky and Johnny Weir lambasted the decision on air in the lead-up to today's women's short competition--in which Valieva took first place.
As she concluded her program, Weir refused to even comment on Valieva's performance, stating simply:
“All I feel I can say is, that was the short program of Kamila Valieva at the Olympics."
It could considered the polite version of Rippon's two-word summary of the issue.
It was a sentiment shared by scores of people on Twitter, who applauded Rippon for his bluntness.
Moreover, there has been so much irreparable harm done to her and the girls by Eteri already. If they care so much about her wellbeing, your suggestion is the right one plus investigating her coaching team.— sinnerman crybaby (@sinnerman crybaby) 1644857432
I'm just going to leave this thread right here.https://twitter.com/mossyzinc/status/1492138622270812169?fbclid=IwAR0r1zXgvHO1rYdRkELnJtrRsFPTgeU2QOJ0C6uiqhWEZ6MIzDtWwKV85P8\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Beth Hansen (@Dr. Beth Hansen) 1644863048
I question whether these Russian girls would be able to do these tricks without these training drugs. Women have struggled with the triple axel and quads for decades, suddenly Russia has a line of girls who can do them? Kamila\u2019s not the only one BTW.— What Would Hermione Do? (@What Would Hermione Do?) 1644877829
I won\u2019t be watching. It is a total corruption of the Olympics. I urge all to tune out.— marcmrsh (@marcmrsh) 1644857583
If this was cold medicine, I could see letting it slide. But this child was given something far more sinister.— Jens Lyon (@Jens Lyon) 1644861881
What was the point of banning Russia if we're just gonna allow Russia to not be banned? \n\nIt's about five degrees of separation away from making any sense.— Ethan B (@Ethan B) 1644887606
\u201cExcept the Russians\u201d is a big exception. She\u2019ll be rewarded in her home country and, if stripped of the medal, will be a victim of Western injustice.— Jessica Weisel (@Jessica Weisel) 1644864515
The competitive athletic world was shocked with this decision. Failed drug test is a failed test. No exceptions. It should be Failed drug test = Can\u2019t compete— Mabel \ud83c\udf39\ud83d\udc31 (@Mabel \ud83c\udf39\ud83d\udc31) 1644861006
No, you're right. She has a beautiful skating style AND flexibility. But taking this drug DOES help her with endurance to land all those quads while continuing to skate beautifully and with flexibility.— Kyiia (@Kyiia) 1644938811
After her first-place finish today, Valieva will go on to the finals Thursday.
If she places in the top three, as she is expected to do, there will be no medal ceremony for any competitors due to the ongoing investigation into her doping presently taking place in Russia.
