Decision to ban Russian, Belarusian athletes is not a positive outcome but a necessary one, IPC president says

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International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons cautioned involving politics in sports after the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing earlier this month but said Saturday that the "magnitude" of the situation in Ukraine called for more severe action.  

Parsons told reporters that the decision to ban those athletes as a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine can’t be seen as a positive outcome for any involved but added that the IPC had reached its "limit." 

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"No one can be happy with the outcome. Not allowing them to compete for any reason is not good, not positive," he said, via Reuters.  "But our movement was asking us for more. It was absolutely imperative that we changed our decision ... We don't like when politics gets mixed with sport, but we have our limits and we had to listen to our members."

International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons speaks during a IPC press conference in Main news center on March 2, 2022 in Beijing, China.  (Photo by Wang He/Getty Images for International Paralympic Committee)

Following the Russian invasion, the IPC initially announced that athletes from Russia, who compete under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), and Belarus would be allowed to compete but not under their flag and would also not be included in the official medal table. 

Global calls to ban those athletes from international competition sparked a fury of backlash which prompted the IPC to backtrack, banning them altogether. 

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"We don't want governments to influence our decisions ... but it was impossible to separate sport from the rest of the world due to the magnitude of the situation in Europe," he said before questioning how their presence might have influenced the Games. 

International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons attends the Wheelchair Curling medal ceremony on day eight of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics at National Aquatics Centre on March 12, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images for International Paralympic Committee)

"Maybe the results here would have been different (with Russian and Belarusian athletes) ... but in terms of the environment, it was the best decision. It was becoming volatile."

The IPC’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes came after several athletes threatened not to participate if they were allowed to compete. 

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Russian and Belarusian flags wave during a wreath laying ceremony at the Victory Monument.  (Ramil NasibulinTASS via Getty Images)

"Multiple National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), teams and athletes now threatening not to compete, jeopardizing the viability of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games," the news release read. "Situation in the athlete villages is escalating and ensuring the safety of athletes has become untenable." 

Several international sports federations have followed suit, with some just banning those athletes from representing their countries in competition.