Blame the Dead Guy

The only thing worse than an Olympic athlete dying in competition is for that athlete to be blamed for dying. Mistakes are not supposed to end in death at the Olympics. There’s a reason why it had been nearly 50 years since an Olympic Games produced a death in competition and that reason isn’t “luck.” Olympic athletes—even the ones who participate in obscure sports from even more obscure countries—know enough about their sports and have had enough training in their sports to avoid making fatal mistakes. For the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to attempt to avoid the microscope by calling into question an athlete’s training is callous, cruel, and barbaric. It’s unfortunate that it’s not illegal, too, because someone should have to face consequences for such an ignorant and self-serving act of inhumanity. Nodar Kumaritashvili was not a favorite to medal in Vancouver but let’s not confuse that with being a charity case. Kumaritashvili came from a family of lugers. He began train...