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OLYMPIC BANISHMENT: In a SHOCKING and CONTROVERSIAL verdict, the so-called “guardians” of sport have SILENCED a Ukrainian hero and ERASED the faces of war’s innocent victims from the world stage. The Court of Arbitration for Sport delivered a FINAL, CRUSHING blow to skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, BANNING him from competition and DESTROYING his Olympic dream for the “crime” of honoring his nation’s dead.
The Court’s decision UPHOLDS the International Olympic Committee’s ruthless disqualification of Heraskevych for wearing a helmet adorned with the faces of more than 20 Ukrainian coaches and athletes KILLED since Russia’s invasion. The IOC’s tyrannical enforcement of its “no politics” rule has exposed a DEEPLY DISTURBING hypocrisy at the heart of the Games.
This isn’t about rules; it’s about COWARDLY CENSORSHIP. While athletes from other nations were PERMITTED personal tributes, a Ukrainian’s act of solemn remembrance was deemed too “political.” The message from the Olympic aristocracy is CLEAR: some grief is acceptable, but the grief of a nation under siege is a THREAT to be extinguished.
Heraskevych’s attorney erupted, stating his client was disqualified WITHOUT ANY ACTUAL MISCONDUCT, convicted of a thought crime before he even competed. The IOC offered pathetic alternatives—a different helmet, a black armband—a blatant attempt to whitewash a genocide from public view. Heraskevych’s own accreditation was CONFISCATED and then returned in what he called a “mockery.”
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Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych arrives at the finish during a men’s skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
This RIGGED system allowed an American to honor his parents, an Israeli to remember Munich victims, and even an Italian to wear a RUSSIAN flag image—but a Ukrainian memorial is BANNED. The IOC claims these other displays were “not in violation,” drawing a line so arbitrary it reveals the ROT at the core of their neutrality. They have chosen COMFORT over CONSCIENCE, silencing the most urgent plea for remembrance on the planet today.
Heraskevych, now exiled from the Village, stated bluntly: “I think it’s the wrong side of history for the IOC.” He leaves with his helmet, his honor, and the haunting question he has forced the world to ask: What KIND of Games celebrates sport while actively erasing the human cost of war? The Olympic flame now casts a DARK, COMPLICIT shadow.
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His final journey is telling: from the shunned Olympic stage directly to meetings with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and security officials. The battlefield of geopolitics has engulfed the field of play, and the IOC has proven it is not a sanctuary for humanity, but a chamber for its suppression. They didn’t just disqualify an athlete; they attempted to BURY A MESSAGE written in blood.
Vladyslav Heraskevych of Ukraine during training wearing a helmet in tribute to athletes who have died in Russia’s attack on Ukraine Feb. 11, 2026. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha)
The CAS absurdly claimed the ban was “reasonable” because he could show the helmet elsewhere—effectively telling him his tribute was only welcome where the cameras aren’t. This is the Olympic spirit in 2026: REMEMBER, but only where we can’t see you. The world watches as the Games sacrifice their soul on the altar of faux neutrality, proving that in the pursuit of a sanitized spectacle, even the dead can be deemed disruptive.
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Ask yourself: when the history of this era is written, will the Olympic rings stand for unity, or for the COWARDLY silence of those who refused to look tyranny in the face?
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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