The sports world is cutting ties with Russia

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As opposing countries isolate Russia from international trade and finance as their primary weapon in trying to stop the invasion of Ukraine, the sports world is doing its own version of this move. Here are the latest developments in three arenas:

Olympics/Paralympics

The International Olympic Committee today asked the sports governing bodies in its sphere of influence to ban all athletes from Russia and key ally Belarus from their competitions. This is a step further than the IOC was willing to go in response to the discovery of Russia's massive, state-sponsored doping program a few years ago. That resulted in the country's name, flag and anthem being banned from the Olympics, but Russian athletes were still allowed to compete under a banner (such as Russian Olympic Committee) that left no doubt as to where they were from.

The IOC's stated reason for using a lighter touch there was that it didn't want to punish athletes who weren't involved in the wrongdoing. The same concern was mentioned in today's announcement, but the IOC went on to say that the inability of many Ukrainian athletes to compete right now because of the ongoing attack on their country created "a dilemma which cannot be solved," and led the IOC to decide "with a heavy heart" to recommend that all Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials be banned from international competitions.

For events where it might be too late to ban athletes, the IOC is asking organizers to make sure that no one competes in the name of Russia or Belarus. Rather, anyone from those countries should participate only as "neutral"