Rory McIlroy To Play Under The Olympic Flag? A Solution To The 2016 Rio Problem

The Rory McIlroy debate has been going on for too long.  By his own admission and speaking off the cuff Rory said he’d likely play for team GB.  That’s totally understandable as he is from Northern Ireland.  Many say that would upset his Irish fans and the GUI (golfing union of ireland) that supported Rory through his amateur career.  However probably the biggest factor is that not declaring for Ireland would also affect Rory’s brand marketing and popularity in the USA where most American golf fans believe him to be “Irish” and love him and support him for being so.

Today the debate took another twist, it was inevitable; the possibility of Rory skipping the Olympics so as not to offend anybody.

“I feel Northern Irish and obviously being from Northern Ireland you have a connection to Ireland and a connection to the UK. If I could and there was a Northern Irish team I'd play for Northern Ireland. Play for one side or the other - or not play at all because I may upset too many people… Those are my three options I'm considering very carefully.”

There is however another option, playing in 2016 under the Olympic flag. To participate in the Olympics, an athlete must be a citizen of the country he or she represents, and that country must have a national Olympic organizing committee. 

This year in London, four qualified athletes were allowed by the International Olympic Committee to participate under the Olympic flag. They competed as international athletes, representing the Olympics, because their countries did not have a national organizing committee.

Three of the athletes were, Churandy Martina (track and field), Philip Elhage (shooting) and Rodin Dauelaar (swimming).

The fourth athlete and most interesting was Guor Marial, a runner from South Sudan living in the United States since 2001 as a refugee. South Sudan does not have an organizing committee and Marial is not yet an American citizen so his only option was to run representing Sudan. However South Sudan fought for independence against Sudan and Marial said that running for Sudan would betray the two million people, including 28 members of his family killed in the battle for independence.

Whether this case is a precedent (albeit an extreme one) to present to the International Olympic Committee in favour of allowing Rory McIlroy to compete under the Olympic Flag is debatable.  However in the spirit of the games, it seems right that one of the finest players in the world conflicted by countries which have had a troubled past should be allowed participate under the Olympic flag in the interests of inclusion and fairness.

 

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