Canadian Olympians demand COC withdraw support of 'neutral' Russian athletes at Paris Games

Some of Canada's top Olympians are publicly demanding that the Canadian Olympic Committee reverse its position and withdraw support of Russian and Belarusian athletes participating at the 2024 Olympic Games. 

Dozens of athletes have signed an open letter to the COC, condemning its apparent support of possibly allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete at the Paris Summer Games as "neutrals."

This came after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it wanted to see athletes from both Russia and its close ally compete in Paris. 

"We're here to be heard and to make the COC listen to us," retired rugby player Jen Kish, one of the Olympians who signed the letter, told CBC News. 

"We want them to get the message that there is no middle ground here. You're either on one side or the other. And what part of history do you want to be on?"

In the letter, the athletes say allowing neutral Russian and Belarusian participation "sends a message that the COC is no longer concerned with Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine."

A year ago, the IOC was among the first international bodies to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recommended sports organizations ban Russian athletes from international competitions.

But that changed in January when the IOC's executive board said it no longer believed an athlete "should be prevented from competing just because of their passport." 

It went on to recommend exploring a "pathway for athletes' participation in competition under strict conditions." 

In response, the COC said in a statement that it still supported the IOC's prior stance that Russia and Belarus should be barred from international competitions. 

But it added that excluding "athletes solely by virtue of their nationality also goes against core principles of the Olympic movement."

A few weeks later, COC head David Shoemaker told CBC Sports: "If there's some way of having exemptions for those athletes who can prove to us that they're opposed to the war, we'd be willing to consider what the international community has in mind."

The shift infuriated Kish and fellow Olympians, including retired hurdler Perdita Felicien and retired cross-country skier Beckie Scott, who acknowledged they may face repercussions for speaking out against the COC's position. 

"The greater risk to us is staying silent and complicit with this statement because we disagree with it so strongly," Scott said.