Olympic Games Have a Healing Effect

By Willie Brown

Sports fans can get pretty heated if things don’t go their way. We see it played out when players and coaches disagree with certain calls.  It gets especially heated when kids are involved.  Parents will literally “lose it” if they feel the referee made an unfair call or if their child didn’t get a chance to play. 

But generally speaking, sports are a pretty wholesome aspect of life.  In most cases, it leaves no room for ambiguity.  A person is either safe or out.  The ball was either inbound or out of bound.

For all the political drama that creeps into our daily lives, you really can’t argue much whether someone dropped the ball or who crossed the finish line first. 

Tomorrow, the world will have a chance to experience sports competition at its finest.  We’ll get a giant reprieve from all the political bickering, name calling, death and destruction which are such an unfortunate part of our culture. 

What I love about the Olympic Games, and sports in general, is its ability to bring people together from around the world.  It feels good to be on the same page, to transcend political differences, economic worries and just common annoyances in daily life.  Like good food and music, it doesn’t matter where you are from or what language you speak. The Olympics have a calming, neutralizing effect—offering an alternative to the harshness of life.  It presents an opportunity to put differences aside, and appreciate people from other parts of the world.

Starting on July 26, for 2 weeks, we will have a chance to focus our attention on something positive that only happens every 4 years—the Summer Olympic Games.  The 2024 Games, held in Paris, the “City of Love,” will be a nice distraction. 

Of course, there have been exceptions—moments when the ugliness of being human has made its way into the world of sports.  One that comes to mind for me was an unfortunate incident that rocked the world 30 years ago—the infamous scandal between Team USA figure skaters Tanya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. 

On January 6, 1994, during the U.S. Nationals in Detroit, while preparing to compete, Kerrigan was attacked and struck in the knee with a baton, making her unable to participate.  An unknown assailant attacked Kerrigan as she left skating practice. Harding went on to win the nationals.  However, it was later revealed that she was behind the attack.

The incident was a planned hit by Harding’s now ex-husband Jeff Gillooly.  Harding denied knowing anything about the attack.  She later came forward and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder the prosecution, was sentenced to 3 years of probation, banned and ordered to pay a fine of $160,000 to the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

Despite the attack, Kerrigan recovered in time to win a silver medal during the Norway Winter Olympics in February1994.  She was later inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004 and has served as a special correspondent during several Olympics.