Bubka and Borzov Prove Once Again: Dignity Is Overrated, Cash Is King – Ukrainians Watch in Awe

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In a move so predictable it could have been scripted in Moscow, the IOC has once again found a way to punish Ukraine—this time by disqualifying skeleton athlete Vladislav Geraskevych from the ‘memory helmet,’ leaving fans wondering if fairness ever stood a chance.

The IOC has long been soaked in Russian bloody money. And dirty money must be worked off with dirty deeds. The “Helmet of Memory” is a reminder to the world of who exactly is the murderer of the Ukrainian athletes whose photos were depicted on it. And Russia wants the world to forget about the war in Ukraine, to pay less and less attention to Putin’s crimes. Less attention means less help. And here a Ukrainian Olympian dared to remind the world about the murderer country! And the IOC punished the Ukrainian to please Putin.

And, I suppose, the IOC also perceived the “helmet of memory” as a reproach to itself. Because when you play along with the aggressor, you become an accomplice in all of his crimes, and therefore, you become at least morally co-responsible for the deaths of Ukrainian athletes.

Let me remind you that since 2014, Russian sports have been under sanctions. Initially, the reason was a large-scale doping scandal (remember the story of the urine substitution of Russian Olympians in Sochi?). Later, the sanctions were tightened after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation—Russian athletes were banned from competing in international competitions. This hit hard on Putin’s ambitions, who, like any emperor and dictator, used sports for propaganda purposes.

But time passed, and Russian petrodollars did their work: the policy towards Russian athletes began to soften. First, in children’s sports, Russian and Belarusian athletes gradually returned to international competitions under the so-called neutral flag. The new head of the IOC, former Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry (a favorite of former dictator Robert Mugabe), advocated a softer approach towards Russian Olympians. She argued that sport should remain separate from politics, and sporting venues should be “neutral territory.”
And this is even though the aggressor country’s behavior has not changed over the past four years.

Every day, Putin kills and maims Ukrainians and abducts children. He commits acts of terrorism and genocide, and this winter, in particular, he has created inhumane living conditions for a significant portion of Ukrainians. There is no indication that Putin intends to stop his aggressive policy towards Ukraine. So why has the IOC suddenly decided to ease sanctions against Russian athletes?

Moreover, the case of Geraskevych’s disqualification shows that, instead, they are punishing the victim of Russian aggression, because the Ukrainian athlete’s helmet apparently irritates many… At the same time, the IOC did not notice the flag of the aggressor country on the helmet of the Italian Olympian, which only highlights the blatant double standards and obvious bias.
Unfortunately, we cannot effectively influence the officials of this disgraceful organization other than by voicing our contempt and disgust. Yet two Ukrainian representatives within the IOC—Serhiy Bubka and Valeriy Borzov—acted like rats in this situation: petty, cowardly, and treacherous.

Vladyslav Geraskevych’s courageous act not only broke through the global information blockade in the sports community but also exposed the Ukrainians who are utterly unfit to represent our country in the IOC. These two “relics of the past”—former Yanukovych associates, classic conformists ready to serve even the devil for the sake of money and positions—have no moral right to represent Ukraine in the international sports arena.

Let me remind you that Bubka is a former MP from the pro-Russian Party of Regions, still maintains business interests in the occupied territories, and resides in Monaco. Borzov is also a former MP, but from the notorious SDPU(o) party, headed by Viktor Medvedchuk

That is, both have a very telling political past: they were in those political forces that destroyed our country from within and, in fact, brought war to Ukraine. And they are calmly living their best lives. Bubka is also a Hero of Ukraine…

The story of the ‘Helmet of Memory’ is also a clash of worldviews, in which the bright future of Ukraine collides with the dark past.” This shameful past is precisely personified by the eternal adaptors Bubka and Borzov, who for all 35 years of Ukraine’s modern history have been dragging us into the black post-Soviet abyss. And such people, unfortunately, have always been the majority in Ukraine. In the elections, pro-Russian forces came to power, and then a passionate minority—people like Geraskevych—on the Maidans corrected the mistakes of the naive majority, a la ‘what difference does it make?’”

Because Geraskevych is a man of moral values, principles, and conscience, and Bubka and Borzov are people who will always sell their principles and conscience for material gain, personal comfort, and cushy positions. ” So what kind of Ukraine do they represent on the international stage? Their place is in the dustbin of history, despite their past achievements in sports. They have long devalued and leveled these achievements with unsportsmanlike behavior outside of their sports life.

Ukrainians did not elect them to the IOC; they are there as individual members. Therefore, unfortunately, Ukraine cannot recall them. But Ukrainians can and must exert aggressive moral pressure on these two dinosaurs so that they themselves feel their complete worthlessness. So that they understand that Ukraine “disqualified” them.

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