Former Olympian calls on Canada to bar Russian athletes

TSN Senior Correspondent

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Former Canadian Olympian and long-time human rights advocate Bruce Kidd is calling on Canada’s federal government to suspend future travel visas to Russian athletes in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kidd, who competed for Canada as a middle-distance runner in the 1964 Olympics and is now a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and the school’s ombudsperson, has been an advocate for athletes’ rights and an agitator to end racism and gender discrimination in sports.

He was an outspoken critic of South Africa’s apartheid policies and pushed for the country to be banned from international sports until it changed its discriminatory policies.

“Sport means a lot to [Vladimir] Putin and to Russia for their international legitimacy,” Kidd said. “They use sports to show how powerful and successful they are in the world. By denying visas to athletes like junior hockey players and professionals who want to hone their skills in Canada, we’re saying, ‘The actions of your state are so offensive and beyond the realm of civilized conduct.’” Kidd suggested Canada should also reject future visas to Russians in other occupations, including academia, research, music and entertainment.

Denying visas to Russian athletes would call into question the country’s ability to compete in international hockey events in coming months. After the International Ice Hockey Federation cancelled the World Juniors in December midway through the tournament in Edmonton and Red Deer, sources say the IIHF and Hockey Canada have discussed staging the tournament this August in the same Canadian venues.

Prohibiting visas and work permits for Russian athletes might also impact Russian professionals