23 August 2008

Revolutionary Sportsmanship

Score another one for Castro’s “new man-athlete”.

A Cuban Taekwondo team member, Angel Valodia Matos, was disqualified during a bronze medal match for taking too much injury time. And in perhaps the worst display of sportsmanship ever at the Olympics, the Cuban “Angel” attacked the referee, kicking him “square in the face.”


Now, there are sore losers everywhere and I know that everything that’s wrong in Cuban society can’t be blamed on Castro’s blessed revolution, but I contend that this disgusting display of violence and unsportsmanlike conduct is symptomatic of the society engineered by Fidel Castro.

In Cuba’s police state, might makes right and those with the guns make the rules. The ruling class, artists, athletes and other privileged citizens don’t have to abide by same rules that the rest of the population has to.

Cuban children are taught to idolize violent thugs like the Castro brothers and Che Guevara; men who solved everything with violence and force, never with statesmanship and compassion.

The sports programs are part and parcel of the regime’s political and repressive apparatus. Loyalty to Fidel is as important to advance in an athletic career as is athletic ability. Part of being like Che and the way to show loyalty to Fidel’s regime is to be intolerant and aggressive to those that stand in the revolution’s way.

The taekwondo referee stood in the way of the revolution’s Olympic medal glory and paid with a few stitches on his lips and a pounding headache.

Cuban teams, coaches and “fans” have a history of belligerent and violent behavior abroad especially when faced with protesting free Cubans. The free world has a habit of accepting the brutish and uncivilized behavior by restricting those who challenge the revolution at international sports venues.

This time, the revolution showed its ugly and unsportsmanlike face to a world-wide audience in a way that would make its leader proud. Fidel has always brutally kicked and pushed any obstacle that stood in the way of his objectives and then belligerently and loudly blamed the victims of his actions.

Just to make sure that Fidel would be proud of his revolutionary fervor, the Cuban Taekwondo coach, Leudis Gonzalez, refused to apologize and remained defiant, basically saying that the referee, Chakir Chelbat, deserved the kick in the head:

"He was too strict," Leudis Gonzalez said, referring to the decision to disqualify Matos. Afterward, he charged the match was fixed, accusing the Kazakhs of offering him money.


WTF? Yes, the World Taekwondo Federation, secretary general Yang Jin-suk later said:

"This is an insult to the Olympic vision, an insult to the spirit of taekwondo and, in my opinion, an insult to mankind,"


But, just par for the course of Castro’s revolution.


1 comment:

roland said...

The amazing thing is how little attention this display of poor sportsmanship was given by the MSM!