Media channels are reporting that Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro will not condemn Putin’s war on Ukraine.
Whilst the IOC and several international sports federations are now sanctioning Russian and Belarusian athletes and sports teams from competing in competitions, Bolsonaro has openly mocked the Ukrainian president and remains neutral about the atrocities taking place in Ukraine.
This must be embarrassing for the ICSD who have given Brazil the right to host this years Summer Deaflympics in Caxias du Sol, Southern Brazil. The federation of deaf sport and its regional members have still not spoken out in support of the Deaflympic community in Ukraine.
Perhaps the Deaflympic community of the world believes that the whole thing is a problem for hearing people and hearing sport so they have nothing to do with it. Perhaps the Deaflympics should be left alone, in isolation?
Currently, the IOC has withheld funding from the ICSD due to financial and constitutional concerns within the organisation, perhaps the ICSD Board think they do not need to comply with IOC requests? They have done this in the past, when the IOC and IPC took action over Russian anti-doping violations, the ICSD claimed that it was not directly affected and took no action
Are Deaflympic athletes going to turn away from what is happening to their fellow competitors in Ukraine, and be happy to spend their hard earn money on flights and accommodation in a country where the president mocks the bravery of another leader who stands on the ground with his own people in the face of an illegal and unjustified invader?
Will Deaflympians speak out or will all the media images, air raid sirens, loud bombs and screams fall on deaf ears?
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Two Big Ears 