1972 - Munich, Germany: Israeli Hostage Situation
The Munich massacres took place during the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany in 1972. On the 5th of September, eight Palestinian terrorist managed to get into the Olympic city. They killed two Israeli participants, and took nine others as hostages. The terrorist organization, which held the Israeli Olympic athletes as hostages, required the 200 guerrilla soldiers, whom where held as prisoners in Israeli jails, to be released.
I will say the Munich massacre reflects Sage & Eitzen's fourth political use of sport: The exploration of sport by politicians. The tragedy show how people with power are willing to use the Olympics to create fear and chaos.
I do not agree with the statement "Sport is pure and devoid of political interference". The terrorist organization "Black September" clearly showed how sport (Olympics) was used to solve a political case. The conflict, which is found between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East, was brought into the Olympics, and destroyed its purity, justice, peace and cohesion.
I agree that events like the Olympics are sometimes used to create fear and chaos. It is a rare occasion that innocent athletes go into foreign countries to compete. Even just with Sochi, there are so many precautions that have to been taken to keep the athletes safe. It comes to the point of when is it going to be about the sports and athletes participating rather than the political tension between different countries?
ReplyDelete-Wesley Morton