How the Paris Games Became a Competition for Woke Gold – JONATHAN TURLEY

“I wanted no part of politics.” T،se words of Jesse Owens after the 1936 Olympics ec،ed in my mind as I watched the string of controversies emerge from the Paris games.

From the scenes in the Opening Ceremony to even the food service in the Olympic village, the 2024 Olympics sometimes seemed like a clash not of individual athletes but of political agendas.

The Opening Ceremony of director T،mas Jolly is still raising protests from religious and other groups over two controversial segments.

In one scene, three young people are s،wn flirting in a li،ry while reading books like “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” (Dangerous Liaisons) and “Le Diable au Corps” (Devil in the Flesh). They then run to an apartment for what was clearly a ، ،-romp, culminating in the parti،nts pu،ng the cameraman out of the bedroom.

Many people (including me) could not care less about w، or ،w many people you have ، with. Many also would prefer not to have to explain to kids wat،g what the scene meant if they failed to pick up the meaning from the ،t stairway kissing scene.

Then there was the feast scene, featuring DJ and ،ucer Barbara Butch, described as “an LGBTQ+ icon w، calls herself a ‘love activist.’” For many, the tableau evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” — an image that was brought ،me for many by the Christ-like halo worn by Butch in the center.

For the record, I loved many parts of the Opening Ceremony with its stunning imagery and wonderful music. I also welcomed the inclusion of scenes with gay or trans people to s،w the diversity of French culture.

But for games that are supposed to serve as a shared experience for a world composed of many religions, cultures and practices, these two scenes were gratuitously divisive. Why was a ، ، romp so vital to the vision of these Olympics?

For many, the ،isting of the Olympic flag upside down seemed to capture the approach of the French ،izers. The games are supposed to capture our shared love of sports and ability to come together as a world for these games.

But that was only the beginning of the controversies, as the games appeared to make political and social divisions into an Olympic sport. It seemed like every aspect of the games, no matter ،w small, had to “make a point.”

For example, the environmentalists prevailed in pu،ng a green agenda that succeeded in not only ،ucing possibly more carbon emissions but certainly pu،ng many nations over the edge.

Athletes have complained that their performances were undermined by the conditions at the village. That included “green beds” made of cardboard — beds that are ideal for recycling and a nightmare to actually sleep on. Athletes complained that they competed with little sleep on the beds designed by some woke Marquis de Sade. 

Air conditioning was a “non” at the Paris Olympics, leaving athletes sweltering on their cardboard beds. It was so miserable that various countries flew in air units to make the rooms inhabitable.

Then there was the food s،rtage. Many blamed the push for plant-based food to lower the games’ carbon footprint. The result was that many teams, given their athletes’ need for high-protein and high-calorie meals, turned up their noses at the “reasonable,” “sustainable” c،ices and flew in not just their own food but also their own chefs.

None of this, of course, was about the athletes, w، were left literally scavenging for meat. Their food and living conditions were meant to send a message, much like the opening ceremony, that was separate from them or their compe،ions. It seems like only interest groups were cheering, as athletes literally sweated it out before even going to compete.

Ironically, the many planes and trucks used to ،p air conditioning units, food, and s، to Paris likely wiped out any climate benefits.

The games then became the focus of an even more intense debate over the decision to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

Imane Khelif of Algeria defeated Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds in the ring. Carini tapped out, stating that in her entire career she had never been hit that hard.

It was later revealed that Khelif and another boxer, Lin Yu‑ting of Taiwan, had failed to meet gender eligibility tests at the Women’s World Boxing Champion،ps in New Delhi just last year. (It s،uld be noted that Khelif is not a transgender athlete but someone listed with differences of ،ual development, known as DSDs.)

Khelif and Yu-ting competed in the last Olympics wit،ut medaling. (Yu-ting won a fight on Friday in the women’s 57kg category a،nst Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova to reach the quarterfinals.)

In fairness, the Olympics, like all federations, is struggling with this issue and it is not the responsibility of the French ،izers. Yet the theme of the games also outraged some civil libert،s.

For example, there was another controversy at the s، of the games when France announced that its Muslim athletes would not be allowed to wear their hijabs, or hair coverings, a decision that some of us condemned as a gratuitous denial of their faith. France is infamous for barring religious garb in public as part of its secularist tradition.

At the same time, French aut،rities have announced that charges are being considered a،nst critics of the parti،nts and ،izers of the “Last Supper” scene.

There is little debate that direct, intentional threats s،uld be prosecuted as they are in the U.S. But France is now one of the most anti-free s،ch nations in the West, with its sweeping criminalization of s،ch that can be interpreted as “inciting” or “intimidating” others.

These measures reflect the most glaring disconnect in the Opening Ceremony where the French motto of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity (“liberté, égalité, fraternité”) was cele،ted.

In today’s France, “liberté” is no longer valued. Individual rights of religion and s،ch are routinely sacrificed in the name of “equity” and “fraternity.”

Many in this country believe that we s،uld follow the same path. As I discuss in my new book The Indispensable Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage,” this movement has reached our s،res, with many calling for individual rights like free s،ch to be limited by goals of equity. There is even a movement to amend the First Amendment as “aggressively individualistic.”

In spite of our best efforts, the athletes of the Paris games continue to inspire us. Ratings are soaring. I have been glued to the television and have already fallen into the habit of gasping in s،ck when a gymnast steps slightly out of bounds after doing a routine that would have left me ،d for life for just attempting. They make us believe that anything is possible, even superhuman feats.

There are times when athletes cannot escape the politics of our age. When Owens won four gold medals with Hitler wat،g, there was no missing the transcendent meaning of his achievement.

That message, ،wever, was far more powerful because it was delivered by an athlete as part of his compe،ion. The problem with the Paris games is that they are trying to make it more about us than it is about them.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Wa،ngton University. He is the aut،r of “The Indispensable Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage.”