And Brazilians continue to boo foreign athletes. To the point of tears. As a nation of sports fans and as hosts, that is the face they choose to show the world: booing their guests in athletic competition.
Booing happens everywhere. A lot of the people complaining on reddit are Americans, and American sports are quite partisan. Elite athletes competing for silver at the Olympics should be able to handle booing.
Maybe, they should be able to handle some booing. Doesn't make it appropriate behaviour to force them to go through it, as hosts. It's an event whose entire premise is to rise above partisanship in the name of sportsmanship, we can expect a little more sportsmanship from the crowds too.
Nobody is forcing anyone to go through it (except North Korea maybe?). If an athlete cannot handle the booing, he is welcome to skip the Olympics. I agree that the whole thing would be so much better if the crowds were nice, but it is what it is.
I didn't mean parent countries were forcing their athletes, I meant Brazil, as the host, are not living up to reasonable expectations on hosts of an international sporting event. You say it as if all athletes were given due notice, and agreed that they would take racist, partisan abuse. The crowds are uniquely, surprisingly bad. The answer to this isn't "you're welcome to leave", that does not deflect blame from the way Brazilians have been behaving. And just saying "it is what it is" downplays just how far below basic standards of decency such booing is.
So pretty much the same as US Open and Wimbledon for example when US or UK is competing against foreign players? Or French Open? I can go on if you want...
Booing is not something invented and exclusive to third world countries or Brazil for that matter.
Not actually American or British, not sure why you assume I must be western first world and accuse me of hypocrisy based on that.
In any case, that fact that booing has happened in previous events I can accept, but that seems a false equivalence. I'm pointing out that to my knowledge, this is the first time it has happened with such vigour and insistence at a world wide sporting event. What is the point of the Olympics if not to overcome partisanship in the name of good sportsmanship? A lot of the Brazilian fans' behaviour seems to come from the worst of futbol hooliganism, which no-one could seriously defend, and their booing of Argentinians in particular shows an unwillingness to rise above regional rivalries even for the Olympics.
Even Olympics officials have said the conduct of the Brazilian fans is unacceptable. If you're not just trolling you can search out some quotes yourself.
Olympics officials does not equal "international". But please do show me that international condemnation of Brazilian fans. Or is 2% of the world considered international and only right and righteous today? I already know the answer but do go ahead.
I find it quite disturbing accusing Brazilians of "booing" at sports event when you could and can see this in events such as US Open, Wimbledon and other "clean and gentlemany" sports when the opponent is from some other country than US or UK. Let's not get into more "dirtier" sports now where booing is de facto standard.
