Ukrainian Athlete Disqualified from Winter Olympics Over Remembrance Helmet
Did the helmet breach the rules on political expression or was this an error on the part of the International Olympic Committee?
Above: Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych during practice heats of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games on Feb. 11. Image credit: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Following each of the three practice days before Thursday's competition, the IOC informed Heraskevych that his helmet was not compliant with rules on athlete expression and gave him alternatives to mourn the loss of his former teammates. On each occasion, he refused to compromise and the IOC was regrettably given no choice but to issue his disqualification.
Pro-Ukraine narrative
This was a shocking misstep from the IOC that has cut short the Olympic ambitions of a young athlete. The message on the helmet was not a political one but one of remembrance and the IOC should apologize to Heraskevych for its wrong decision.
