Minneapple

I really think all the other countries should boycott the ladies event.

Yep. Unbefuckinglievable. Eta response from US

Allegedly the decision on Kamila will be released in about an hour. I dunno, most of these ice dance teams bore me. They all have a kind of sameyness about them. I enjoyed Chock and Bates’ dance because it at least didn’t blend in with the others. At least Papadakis didn’t flash her boob at the whole world this time.

I can't help but think that NBC is totally relishing this drama. I bet they're furious at themselves for not pushing to have the ladies' final in primetime.

Former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol convinced the IOC to not only move swimming and gymnastics for the 2008 Summer Games to American primetime, he convinced them to get China to move the Olympics from September to August (because NBC did not want to compete with the NFL for viewers in September). Remember NBC is spending more money to televise the games than any other network in any other country by far, so the IOC gives them a little pat on the back for that.

Doping is way way more common in track and track athletes serve their suspensions and come back all the time. Justin Gatlin for example, who was suspended twice, once for freaking testosterone. I don't think a lifetime ban would be necessary in Kamila's case. The real villain of the piece is Eteri. Make sure she never coaches again.

Not just Russia, in the US, too. Parents trusted the Karolyis because they got results. I signed my daughter up for gymnastics when she was five (after Rio she wanted to be the next Simone Biles). The coaches didn't allow parents to stay in the gym during practice because we were a distraction. I pulled her out for a different gym after only a few months. She was only five! She's done gymnastics since at other gyms and now she's in figure skating which she loves. No, it's not Olympic level or any level and I don't expect that, but I get to watch her at the rink, and she's having fun so that's what matters. I don't blame the press for asking Kamila. In the end she's the one who took the substance and if any medals are lost they will be hers (and the others on the Russian team). And there's no point in sheltering her anymore. I can only hope that Eteri is banned from coaching as her consequence, because fuck her.

I've been thinking about this. On the one hand, she's 15, not 5 and presumably not a total dumbass. Then there's the fact that she's competing for ROC, not Russia, which should be a big honking clue that something is fucked up with your country and you probably should not trust a damn thing about it. On the other hand, she's a young athlete and that involves a whole different mindset. She's putting her faith in her coaches and presumably her parents have put their faith in the coaches as well to do what's best for her. They don't think Eteri would do anything to harm her. It's like football players in the US who don't think they're disposable. Kamila sees Alina and Evgenia get fucked up, but her mindset is that it's on them, not on Eteri. And maybe she knows the dangers of what she's doing, but she's willing to take the risk -- just like football players in the US who know about concussion and CTE but they're willing to take the risk. Added to all this, speaking as an American, I have zero clue about how brainwashing and propaganda works in places like Russia and China. They play the victim and act like the world is out to get them. Their media is censored; their social media is also different from ours. They have a completely different worldview and it's hard for us as Americans (or Canadians, or any Westerners) to put ourselves in their shoes.

I do think many top athletes are doping. Especially in swimming and track. When you see 20-year-old world or Olympic records falling in heats, that should be like a giant flashing red light. Phelps and Bolt might have been clean because they were tested so often, but usually the drugs and the doping methods are far ahead of the tests, so who knows. Still. If you get caught there should be consequences. Especially for someone from Russia after they received a slap on the wrist. Yeah, super fascinating in that all of these people were punished. Imagine that.

I agree but when they test positive then they should be suspended or banned. Sha’Carri Richardson tested positive for freaking marijuana which she was smoking to relieve her anxiety after her mother died and she was suspended. And she took her punishment gracefully even though everyone agreed it was ridiculous.

I swear if she skates none of the other countries should show up. It should be like the basketball medal ceremony at the 1972 Games.

12-year-old me cutting his picture out of Tiger Beat (alongside Luke Perry's) concurs.

If they let Kamila skate in the individual competition it would be the biggest joke. The US figure skating association and USOC should raise holy hell if it happens. Enough with bending over backward for the Russians. Figure skating has enough credibility problems as it is, and so does the IOC.

New trailer: Can anyone tell me what this movie is, you know, about? Other than chasing dinosaurs, running from dinosaurs and blowing shit up? Or is that it? And I probably don't even care because I'll see it anyway.

Absolutely. Fuck the Russians and their inability to stop cheating.

FUCK YES NATHAN!

Mike Tirico just confirmed all the rumors. Everything that has been reported is accurate. Valieva tested positive for the heart drug and there hasn’t been any decision on what to do.

Gary Glitter, really?

Well, if the drug is trimetazidine, then they can't use the "heart condition" excuse: https://www.practo.com/medicine-info/trimetazidine-280-api#:~:text=Trimetazidine is not recommended for use in children,operating heavy machinery during treatment with this medicine.

Even the four-year-olds playing T-ball have to play by the rules.

Man that's total bullshit. So any athlete under 16 could just use whatever, steroids, HGH and oh they're under 16 they can do that? If she's old enough to compete then she's old enough to play by the rules.

I do wonder how NBC will cover this tonight in prime time. Should be interesting to say the least. Cruella. Before she got all tragic backstoried.

I totally believe a 15-year-old would dope on her own. But reading about her training environment, either the coaches gave her something (similar to the Romanian gymnast Andrea Raducan) or the pressure was so enormous that she felt like she needed to take something. Nobody would put it past Eteri to give something to her skaters.

I'M SO SHOCKED that a Russian, excuse me, ROC athlete, would be doping. GIVE THE USA THE GOLD, YOU COWARDS.