Updated on 3/2/2022 at 2:26 p.m
The new tennis world number one, Daniil Medvedev, has so far refrained from any protest note against Putin. Many prominent Russian athletes have so far been reluctant to comment for fear of consequences. The fact that he is not courting Putin may have to suffice for the moment.
Not every world athlete shows guts like Garry Kasparov. The former world chess champion, who held the title from 1985 to 1993 and is now 58 years old, demonstrated early on against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim to power and was thrown in prison for it.
Kasparov never wanted to give up. He used his prominence for public protests and spoke plainly whenever television in the West invited him. This is how opposition politics works: well-known athletes rebel against abuse of power at the top of the state.
War in Ukraine: Russian athletes like Medvedev hold back
Apparently, Daniil Medvedev does not want to go that far. The new tennis world number one has so far waived any protest note against Putin. One senses a fear among many prominent Russian athletes that forces them to exercise restraint. They reduce their expression of opinion to a statement that doesn’t hurt: “No war!” wrote his Russian compatriot Andrei Rublev after his victory in the semifinals in Dubai about the Pole Hubert Hurkacz: “No war!”
In Russia, the Ukraine invasion does not count as a war; so “no war” doesn’t really hurt. A star like Medvedev avoids any further words against Putin that would be appropriate. He left it after he became world number one on Monday with the message: “#kiddontstopdreaming”, in which he pleads for peace in the world and between countries. Does that mean he should be banned?
Does restraint necessarily lead to punishment?
The Ukrainian Tennis Association leaves no doubt about this and demands: Medvedev should be excluded from the biggest tennis tournaments and his world ranking points should be taken away. The accusation that is in the room: failure to provide assistance.
This is how an association president can and must speak who sees his home country in ruins and ashes. That’s the page. The other: Nobody knows how Medvedev really thinks and feels. He too has family and friends who are in danger if he attacks Putin. Can one therefore expect something revolutionary from him? The question can only be answered by those who have had to give an answer to life and death themselves. Civil courage can be demanded quickly from the sofa or office chair.
Of course, it’s disappointing when Medvedev says evasively: “It’s not easy hearing all this news. Waking up here in Mexico and seeing the news from home wasn’t easy.” So much lay psychology is allowed: Here someone is afraid. The fact that he is not courting Putin may have to suffice for the moment. There is not a Kasparov in every athlete.
Fever Pit’ch is Pit Gottschalk’s daily football newsletter. Every morning at 6:10 a.m., subscribers receive the comment on the football topic of the day and links to the best football stories in the German media.
Soccer World Cup? Not with Russia. European Cup? Spartak Moscow must watch. Paralympics? Possibly without the strong Russian athletes. And even at the Ice Hockey World Championship, Sbornaja is threatened with becoming a spectator.
