Professional sports and media need to stop acting like Russian athletes are Putin puppets

Unless you have a memory like Dory in Finding Nemo or have been living under a rock, you are aware of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has been going on since 2022. This conflict affected not only domestic and international politics, but also American and international professional sports.

For example, the NHL did not include Russia in the 4-Nation Challenge in 2025, but Russia will likely have one of the strongest rosters in the field. Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian national teams have been banned from most international hockey competitions. The suspension was imposed by the International Ice Hockey Federation, which has repeatedly extended the suspension due to safety concerns and the inability to guarantee safe participation in international events. As a result, Russia was excluded from tournaments such as the World Championship and other IIHF competitions.

Therefore, we can assume that the NHL did the same, although it was never clearly stated why it excluded Russia from the 4-Nation Competition organized by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players Association. NHL officials omittedly stated that geopolitical issues caused Russia to sideline.

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In April 2025, SportsNet writer Kristina Rutherford penned an article accompanied by a headline from Before I discuss how poorly I believe professional tennis has handled this conflict, especially at the 2026 French Open (Roland Garros), I want to make it clear that I believe articles like Rutehrford’s are the problem with sports media these days. We were about to celebrate one of the greatest achievements in sports, and these liberals are making geopolitics seem like celebrating Alex Ovechkin’s historic achievement is like celebrating Putin’s dictatorship and Russia’s war atrocities. This is pure, unadulterated virtue signaling and gaslighting.

As for Roland Garros, you may have noticed that half of the players competing in the women’s quarter-finals do not have their country’s flag on them in the chart published on Roland Garros’ official X account, including world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Tennis’ key bodies, the ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation, have announced that Russian and Belarusian players like Sabalenka will still be able to compete in individual events after Russia invades Ukraine in 2022, but they must do so as “neutral athletes”. Their flags, country names and national anthems were removed from official exhibitions. This policy has remained largely consistent in recent seasons, and also applies to Grand Slams and tour events (with some exceptions, such as Wimbledon in 2022, when it briefly went further and banned them entirely before reversing course).

In 2022, TNT Sports reported the following about Daniil Medvedev, then the world’s No. 1 men’s tennis player:

Daniil Medvedev’s chances of playing at Wimbledon may depend on whether he can reassure him that he is not a ‘supporter’ of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston.

Now let me be clear that this is not some kind of Russian apology. I will not defend Putin’s actions. I never did. It will never happen. So why do we continue to denigrate Russian athletes as if they were launching rockets, as if they were making the political decisions in this war? We did not hold Middle Eastern athletes or Chinese athletes to these standards. Our home-grown liberal media and the city of San Francisco even celebrated Olympic defectors like Eileen Gu, who was paid by the Chinese Communist Party to compete on their behalf at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee even allowed the 2022 Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing, China, ignoring human rights concerns over profit and global expansion.

Gold medalist Eileen Gu poses with her medals after winning the women’s freestyle ski halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy, on February 22, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)

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On Saturday, 19-year-old Russian female tennis player Mirra Andreeva won the French Open. After defeating Chwalinska in straight sets, Andreeva took time to speak Russian at the end of her acceptance speech, seemingly defying smears made by tennis governing bodies and opposing players for her ethnic heritage.

Two Andreeva fans were seen waving the Russian flag during the celebration, but security immediately instructed them to remove the flag. This is a reflection of how much effort the tennis world is trying to distance itself from Russia.

Throughout the tournament and much of the season, Sabalenka and other players from Russia and Belarus were asked repeatedly whether they condemned the war in Ukraine or felt pressure from Ukrainian players. These questions continue to surface in post-match press conferences, especially after high-profile matches against Ukrainians such as Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk.

His answers throughout 2025 and 2026 were fairly consistent. Sabalenka has repeatedly said that she does not support the war and that she is “just a tennis player” with no control over political decisions. He also expressed disappointment that athletes were being dragged into geopolitical debates.

Aryna Sabalenka reacts to Diana Shnaider during the Women’s Singles quarterfinal match on Day Eleven of the 2026 French Open at Roland Garros on June 03, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo: Dan Istitene/Getty Images) (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

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All I’m saying is: When is enough enough? Why are there double standards on geopolitical issues and athletes? Russian athletes are routinely asked to respond to their governments’ actions, but athletes from other countries are rarely subjected to the same scrutiny or treated as if they were personally aligned with war criminals or dictators.

Virtue signaling needs to end. There are legitimate criticisms of Putin and his regime that we should focus on, but it is ludicrous to act as if these actions against athletes are helping to stop a war or making some kind of positive difference in the conflict. So much for selective anger.