COMMENT OF THE ISSF PRESIDENT TO THE PUBLICATION IN AROUND THE RINGS

Yesterday Around the Rings published an opinion piece called "Shooting No Sport for Olympics" following the recent tragic events in Ohio and Texas by American journalist Alan Abrahamson, American journalist.

This is the second attempt by Mr. Abrahamson to link mass shootings with the Olympic status of the Shooting Sport. This, no doubt, leaves room for certain considerations. The ISSF President Vladimir Lisin has responded to the article, saying it was:

"Crowded, stuffy, dirty!"; If Pierre de Coubertin saw all the results of the modern world’s "civilization growth", he would also choose a similar motto for the Olympic Movement.

For people who campaign, there are unlimited opportunities to try to ban any Olympic Sport or perhaps the Olympic Games in general.

Human life and health are the most valuable things on the Earth. However, hardly anyone discusses bans on airplanes or cars, or advocates sugar bans for the sake of avoiding diabetes. Should we start counting injuries and accidents arising from biking, swimming, downhill skiing, or even equestrian to announce a new initiative? How many criminals availed themselves of an athletic, boxing, or wrestling experience?

Olympic Shooting in this context is just an irrelevance. Nothing springs to mind when you think of a possible link between the sport of shooting and bank robberies or tragedies in school classes.

Anticipating the charge of PROPAGANDA, just pause to think about modern computer games for millions of users, shooting at everything that moves and breathes, day in and day out. There again, the criminal multi-charged weapon has nothing to do with the Olympic Sport which millions of law-abiding individuals throughout every continent are involved in.

There is a consideration that keeps ringing. Why do they keep misguiding the public opinion in an attempt to disguise the real reasons for the weapon tragedies?

In society, who gets a gun and how? In organizational terms, what are the weapon quantities, types, areas, and reasons to use such weapon? I think the answer to this question is plain to see. Pressure on civilian rights is no longer popular, or is at least unrewarding. On the other hand, you can easily attack athletes’ rights and draw attention to yourself inside the Olympic Movement. Popularity is the main motivation of the authors of ‘massive’ initiatives. The process is everything, the result is nothing, even if innocent people suffer as a result of this.

Twice now, just after the tragic events in the malls or schools they have tried to blame our sporting community.

It is hardly possible to suspect the ideological inspirers of such initiatives to have dignity or any good reason.

We feel like we have to respond.​ ​

Please, support yourself and all of us if you agree!​ ​

V. Lisin

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