In this post, I’d like to return to the Olympics to discuss another historical example of athlete advocacy, with a twist. I’m referring to the U.S. government-sanctioned boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were held in Moscow. The 1980 Olympics boycott can be distinguished from the previous examples of advocacy covered in this blog because it represents the use of athletes as pawns to stage a protest—largely against their will—rather than voluntary demonstrations made by the athletes themselves. As a result of this boycott, more than 450 American athletes were denied an opportunity to compete at the Games, many of whom would never qualify for another Olympics. While the boycott quickly gained an infamy that has persisted to this day, it is worth revisiting the rationale behind the movement.

The decision to refrain from sending U.S. athletes to the Moscow Olympics originated with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who wished to stage a protest against the Soviet Union over their invasion of Afghanistan a year prior. In April of 1980, Carter’s Vice President, Walter Mondale, proposed a boycott of the 1980 Games before the United State Olympic Committee House of Delegates, and quite predictably, the USOC decided not to defy the wishes of the federal government, formally voting in favor of a boycott hours later.

The boycott expressly forbid U.S. athletes from competing in Moscow, stripping them of any autonomy in their choice of whether and how to protest. For many athletes, the 1980 Olympics represented their best—if not only—chance to succeed at the Olympics, making the compulsory nature of the boycott that much more infuriating. In an article revisiting the boycott, the New York Times discusses several athletes who were deprived of an Olympic appearance at the peak of their careers. A particularly striking example lies in track athlete Don Paige, who “had the world’s top time in the 800 meters in 1980,” but “finished fifth at the U.S. Olympic trials, missing the team by two spots” in the next Olympic cycle four years later. Some of the other athletes favored to win in Moscow would never medal or even appear in another Olympic Games, who you can read about here.

What makes the U.S. government’s decision to boycott even more painful is the minimal political effect that it appeared to create. While the concept was originally backed by Great Britain and Australia, both eventually opted to send athletes to the Games in the end, leaving the U.S. as the only participating nation. After the Olympic boycott conceived to protest Soviet involvement in Afghanistan, the USSR would remain in the country for eight more years, not withdrawing until 1988. With these developments in mind, it is practically impossible to argue the success of the 1980 boycott.

Significantly, these events have continued to play a role in the present day. When the Covid-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, former athletes from the 1980 boycott became a source of support for the crestfallen 2020 U.S. Olympians. For example, Edwin Moses, a hurdler who won three Olympics medals in his career despite missing the Moscow Games, organized a meeting between hundreds of Olympians impacted by either the boycott or the coronavirus pandemic to discuss the many different impacts of a cancelled or postponed Olympic Games and give participants “the opportunity to vent their frustrations,” in Moses’ own words. (If you are interested in learning more about this meeting Moses organized, be sure to check out this Wall Street Journal article.)

Although the failure of the 1980 Moscow Olympics boycott is apparent, it is still worth revisiting this movement in the context of athlete advocacy. While they often have the power to create positive change through their own actions, sometimes they can find themselves as mere pawns in similar efforts, often leading to more complicated or outright undesirable outcomes, generating controversy that can persist for decades. With the boycott being such an unusual example of athlete advocacy, I’d be curious to hear your own thoughts; feel free to share your own takeaways from this event below.