Science and the Olympics

Abstract

It can well be argued that the right decision was made when U.S. Olympic officials voted not to send a team to the games scheduled for Moscow late this summer. However, whether or not the decision turns out to have been a wise one, the circumstances under which it had to be made were regrettable. They could come back to haunt the Administration. They can be seen as a blow to those who fight for human rights throughout the world. And they can also be perceived as a direct threat to other activities that involve international interchange—including science. By making his unilateral decision that no U.S. team take part in the games and announcing it prior to action by the U.S. Olympic Committee, a private organization and the only group with power to decide on U.S. participation, and by threatening legal action to make his decision stick, President Carter did nothing to enhance the ...