What’s the most effective way to make Vladmir Putin go nuclear less than two weeks before the launch button is pushed for the Summer Olympics? Decline his country’s Evite to the Rumble in Rio, just two years after gushing over the Russian president for how glorious it was to be feted at his Sochi resort for the most expensive Winter Olympics. Retaliation can come in the most unlikely of forms. Or do we really need to hire taste testers for the next shipment of Smirnoff Ice Watermelon Mimosas? The recommendations the International Olympic Committee has been pondering, and what could soon lead to an unprecedented wet-blanket ban of all Russian athletes prior to the Aug. 5 opening ceremonies, has to do with more than a belief there is out-of-control doping going on in this power-hungry country. It’s been documented, enough to where there’s already the banishment of all the country’s track-and-field participants unless they find some legal loophole to pass through. He’s calling for his country to shape up its internal sports organizations on ridding themselves of performance-enhancing drug use. If not, there are plenty of places where those who don’t comply can be shipped out. Strong words, but usually hollow.
Does banning Russia from the Olympics put Putin in attack mode?
