An Olympic controversy

 On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast:

Despite testing positive for a banned substance, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was allowed to compete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The decision has caused a wave of controversy. Is the 15-year-old blameless in the situation? Should she have been able to compete at all? What does this say about the Olympic spirit? Those are some of the questions Paste BN Editorial Board member Thuan Le Elston addresses in a conversation with James Brown.  To read Thuan Le Elston's article on Paste BN click here.

To read Christine Brennan's piece click here.

To read Nancy Armour's piece click here.

To stay connected with James Brown on twitter click here.

To stay connected with Thuan Le Elston click here.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. 

James Brown:                    Hello, and welcome to Five Things. I'm James Brown. It's Sunday, February 20th, 2022, the last day of the winter Olympic games. Kamila Valieva, that's a name that most people didn't know until a few weeks ago, or maybe a few days ago, unless you're a figure skating junkie. I certainly didn't know her. It's one of the remarkable things about the Olympic Games. Stars rise out of nowhere for better or for worse. In Valieva's case, she walked into the Olympics considered one of, if not the best figure skater in the world, even winning gold with her team a week ago. But just a few days ago, the 15-year-old became a controversial figure. She tested positive for a heart medicine that's been banned by the world anti-doping agency since 2014. The drug is said to improve endurance in blood flow. She was suspended. During the appeal, Valieva's lawyer claimed that she took her grandfather's pill by accident. The judges agreed, at least in the short term.

Speaker 2:                           The Court of Arbitration for Sport, actually the ad hoc division of the court, has issued its decision in the procedures relating to the figure skater Kamila Valieva. The cast panel in charge of this matter has decided to let Miss Valieva continue her participation in the Olympic Winter Games, Beijing 2022.

James Brown:                    What followed was an outcry from many quarters of the sports world. My colleagues, Christine Brennan, and Nancy Armor followed this closely, writing about it several times. Armour made the comparison to Sha'Carri Richardson, who was not allowed to participate in last year's Summer Olympics, because she tested positive for marijuana. Brennan criticized the decision in a USA Today video.

Christine Brenn...:           What a devastating blow to those athletes. Katie Ledecky, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Michelle Kwan, so many others, who've done things the right way, who have fought so hard for clean sport, who have gone the extra mile to prove that they are not doping.

James Brown:                    Richardson herself shared the video on Twitter. She argued that the only difference between her case and Valieva's case is race. Richardson is black, and Valieva is white. Mark Adams of the International Olympic Committee was asked about Richardson's claims. He disagreed with her assertion.

Mark Adams:                     Yeah, I mean, simply to say, I mean, obviously every single case is very different, and this one hasn't even reached the end of its case yet. But in terms of Ms. Richardson's case, I mean, she's tested positive on the 19th of June, quite away ahead of the games. The results came in early order, for USADA to deal with the case on time ,before the games Ms. Richardson accepted a one month period of inability, which began on June the 28th. So, I would suggest that there isn't a great deal of similarity between the two cases.

James Brown:                    Valieva did compete. She finished fourth, falling twice during a tearful performance. All this got the people in the USA Today newsroom talking. Should Valieva have been able to compete at all? Editorial board member Thuan Le Elston says. No. She writes in our opinion section. She's got a lot to say about what all this means about fair play in the Olympic spirit, in just a few moments. Thuan Le Elston, welcome to Five Things.

Thuan Le Elston:               Thank you for having me.

James Brown:                    I'd like to start by reading the first line from your opinion piece here. It struck me. I have never wanted a 15-year-old to fail so much in my life. That's very spicy.

Thuan Le Elston:               Yeah. I knew, as I typed it, I thought this is so wrong.

James Brown:                    Why is it wrong?

Thuan Le Elston:               She's a kid, but just, I think though, that watching that morning. We got up early to watch the short program, but watching Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir talking about their own experiences as young skaters, and having to go through drug testing as young as 12 and 13 for them. Lipinski was 15 years old herself when she won the gold in '98. Just their personal experiences about how, from a very young age, they were very aware of what can go into their body and what cannot go into their body, and how, even with a mild cold, they had to call a hotline to see what they could take.

                                                I mean, for a 12 and 13-year old, that's a lot. So, their thing is like, you're never not aware. So, and that if you are an athlete at that level, these are the sacrifices and the hard work you put into it, and you've got a team around you. So, I started off with that line, but I was very conscious about making it as her team that's failing the Olympic spirit and not her as an individual. She's a kid. She's only as old as my youngest child.

James Brown:                    Let's get to the 15-year-old in question. Kamila Valieva was popped for using what maybe a performance-enhancing drug. It's certainly been a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency for at least five years, I believe, a little longer. There's a lot of discussion about why she was allowed to skate. Obviously you feel she shouldn't. Can you tell us why you feel that way?

Thuan Le Elston:               It's all the Olympians, the sacrifice and the hard work that they dedicate their lives to, because they want to reach the Olympics. It's not there to the others, if you're failing to hold up your end of the bargain. This is, this goes beyond just the 15-year-old Kamila. It's the Russian Committee. The Russian Committee, to have allowed them all this time to compete, even though not as a country and all that stuff. But, they're still trying to get around things. I mean, every year it's, if not figure skating, then it's some other athlete and some other sport, swimming. So, it's just rough.

                                                I thought about the other figure skaters, and how unfair it was to them that they're already being robbed of the team metal ceremony, where Russia got gold and USA, silver and Japan bronze. Then now if she were to place in the top three, then the International Olympic Committee had already said that there'd be no metal ceremony. Even if it would have been like a Russian sweep, it would be unfair to her fellow Russian figure skaters also, to be robbed of that.

James Brown:                    I heard that detail, the fact that she would be essentially disqualified from going to the podium. I found that strange, the fact that you're allowed to skate, but you're not allowed the top award for it essentially, or at least to be recognized as a top award, even though the viewer would've seen, hey, this person finished here, but we're just not going to allow that. What does that say to you?

Thuan Le Elston:               Yeah, it's messed up, right? I mean, it's, as a viewer, as a longtime fan of figure skating, I've never witnessed this before. That just says that all these alphabet organizations, whether it's the Russian Doping Agency, the Court of Arbitration, the IOC, they've got to come up with a fairer system, where, as an athlete, you've sacrificed to get this far. All you can hope for is justice and fair play and sportsmanship, the Olympic spirit, for God's sakes. So, the mixed up rules, and the mixed up messages are unfair to the athletes.

James Brown:                    Mark Adams from the IOC, the International Olympic Committee was asked to compare Valieva's situation, and Sha'Carri Richardson's situation. Richardson was popped for marijuana use in a test prior to last summer's Olympics. What'd you think about what he had to say when comparing the two situations?

Thuan Le Elston:               Yeah. I heard about how the US Committee clarified that it's because the US agencies, the US Olympic Committee and the US Anti-Doping Agency, their thing is that was a just and fair system, that they had plenty of time. They sped up the time period in order to get the test and to adjudicate and all that stuff that they, they felt they treated her fairly. But personally, I feel she got cheated also, that she should have been allowed to compete.

James Brown:                    You know, just stepping back to something you said a bit ago. Well, there's two things. You said that you are a fan of the Olympics, and you also said that this is counter to the Olympic spirit. If you don't mind elaborating more on those two bits.

Thuan Le Elston:               I came over to America from Vietnam, after the Vietnam War, as a refugee kid in 1975, and the very first time watching the Olympics was in the '70s. I've rarely missed an Olympic since, Winter or Summer. It's something you look forward to. It's something that normally unites the world, and also America. As America has grown more divided, it's one thing that helps to unite us for a couple of weeks. Just watching the athletes, even from different countries, they're cheering each other and hugging each other after events. That is something beautiful, and something we should strive for. It affects me every time, you know? So, to have the athletes feel as if they're not being served by the Olympics. They've sacrificed so much, that's the least you can do is for all these adults, all these agencies to reward the Olympians for getting this far. That's how I feel.

James Brown:                    If you like the show, write us a review on Apple Podcast or wherever you're listening, and do me a favor, share it with a friend. Thanks to Thuan Le Elston for joining me. You can find her editorial on Valieva in The Olympic Spirit on USAtoday.com. We'll also put it in a description. Thanks to Alexis Gustin for editing this episode. Taylor Wilson will be back tomorrow morning with Five Things You Need to Know for Monday. For all of us at USA Today, thanks for listening. I'm James Brown, and as always, be well.