That’s great that anecdotally you get people to shake your hand. That doesn’t invalidate the way she feels, nor does it invalidate the fact that Russia is doing some horrible things right now.

Is that while you rape their children in front of them on top of their dead wives? Fuck off Putin knob gobbler.

There is a reason that sport was always seen as something that can connect people. Especially in competitions sportsmanship was always seen as something bigger than politics. Of course it is not completely apolitical, but contestants usually still adhered to the rules of their sport. That is why I'm saying that knowingly breaking a quite central rule of her sport and accepting the consequences would be making a bigger point than being annoyed by the fact that the rules are being enforced.

As for your question: yes and no. I prefer to see good competition and usually don't really care for where contestants come from. So I would be fine with removing flags altogether. But I also acknowledge that there are different kinds of "being proud of your country" and that waving a large flag doesn't immediately make you a nationalist. So I'm fine either way. But you make a point, because yes, sport can and often is political. But we should not let politics dictate the rules of a sport. The Sport should come first....

As I said in my other reply further down, I'm admitting that a sport is often not apolitical. But I also think that good sportsmanship should always come before politics.

But your point now is really difficult. The pain that the Ukrainians have to endure is unimaginable, but there has never been a time where blatant generalisations were the right thing to do.