Senior Hannah Burd thinks that the Olympians from Russia should be punished for their use of illegal drugs to enhance their performance in the Olympic games.

“Russia’s widespread and blatant disregard for the rules regarding performance enhancing drugs is plenty ground for them to be banned from the Olympics in 2018,” said senior Hannah Burd.  “Russia should be banned from the entire competition for their infringement on the values of such a honored set of games.”

The Olympic team from Russia was recently banned from the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The last medals the Russian olympians won will be taken away from them.

The Russian officials are not allowed to attend the game and those olympians who are allowed to compete will wear a neutral uniform. Their flag will not be shown, and their anthem will not be played.

The team was found guilty of severe doping for the past few years or so. Not all members of the team were found guilty, so those who have passed, and will continue passing drug tests are allowed to ask for permission to compete in a neutral uniform. The Russian Olympic Committee was also fined $15 million, according to The New York Times, and the money is said to go towards drug tests on international athletes.  

According to The New York Times as well, the ban may be lifted before the closing ceremony, meaning the Russian flag may be shown before the end of the games in 2018.

If Russia is going to be banned from competing, it doesn’t seem fair to bring their flag up before the end of the games because that takes away a big part of the punishment.

“As a skier, I believe the punishment is fair because it is brought against a history of doping in Russia. Individual athletes can compete for either another country that they originate from or under a neutrals flag,” said junior Lily Fullford. “However, not every Russian Olympic is bad. I’m guessing the majority of them aren’t bad. Unfortunately, they have all been associated with Russia as a country that does use doping techniques.”

Because the team was guilty of drug use, it is fair to take them out of the competition, but still allow the innocent athletes to take part in the games.

“This punishment is completely fair. They’re cheating in order to win, so being banned is what they deserve,” said junior Connor Beevers. “Same goes for a high school team, if you’re going to get as low as to use drugs to play better, and you don’t deserve to get the benefits from that.”

Because the Russian Olympians have cheated in the games by using drugs to improve their performance, it is only fair that those who have been doping will not be able to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympic games. Doping is illegal and unfair to the other honest Olympians.