Olympic Scandal

Scandal is a part of life and it is found everywhere. So why should Vancouver be the exception? Athletes participating in the 2010 Olympics have rocked controversy since they day they arrived are now feeling the consequences for their actions. “I think they deserve exactly what they had coming to them, it’s very unprofessional,” Cindy Matlock said.

Snowboarder Scotty Lago was spotted on a public after winning his bronze medal partying with the wrong crowd. Photos were published on TMZ’s website of the medalist with a woman who was licking the medal that was wrapped around his waist covering his genitalia, over his pants of course.

After the International Olympic Committee saw these photos, Lago volunteered to leave after a mild apology. In reality, Lago was delivered an ultimatum: apologize and leave, or get ejected form the Olympic Village.

“Personally I believe that Scotty was careless and immature. The Olympics is a serious worldwide competition where each competitor represents their country and must be able to not only, compete with the best but behave in a honorable way. Personally I feel that his being asked to leave is just a tap on the wrist. They should have asked him to relinquish the medal, give a formal apology and finally asked him to leave the winter games,” Esther Wolfe said.

In another incident, the Canadian Women’s Hockey team was spotted out celebrating their victory against the USA with beer, champagne, and cigars. The only problem is that the medal was with them. "I was surprised by the women's reaction, but at the same time, it was a victory they earned," Kayuani Stovall said.

Finally, on Friday, February 12^th, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died at the age of 21, during practice. While sliding down the track Kumaritashvili was ejected from his sled going roughly 90 miles per hour, hitting a metal pole that his body became wrapped around and died 3 minutes later. This track has raised serious concerns among the competitors. Kumaritashvili never saw the opening ceremony.

“I think what happened was awful. Those athletes work their whole lives to get to that point and their dreams can be shattered so easily. I also think that viewers forget just how dangerous some of the sports are. We sit on our warm, comfy couches watching these people flip and spin through the air or ride a piece of metal at 90 miles an hour through twists and turns. Some of the stuff they do is crazy,” Anna Harrell said.