Warning: this post has absolutely nothing to do with Houston high school sports.

I feel compelled to write about the horrific accident near Vancouver that resulted in the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili from the Republic of Georgia during an Olympic practice run for the luge competition on the same day as the opening ceremonies of these Olympic Games.

Nothing is harder to watch than the raw footage of the accident, especially when you realize you’re viewing the exact moment that a person’s life comes to an end, but I believe the thing that will define this tragedy is the way that it is dealt with publicly by the International Olympic Committee and their major broadcast partner, NBC. 

The IOC is downright clandestine and they grant no re-broadcast or video rights to any other media organizations besides their official broadcast partners, which means that we will only get as much or as little information about the accident, the track safety, the measures being taken to prevent further accidents and any number of other related issues as the IOC wants us to have.

It will be interesting to see how the journalistic instincts of those reporting for NBC on these games will be challenged as questions come up about the safety of the athletes participating in the Games, and specifically the luge competition, even as the IOC will most certainly try to sweep this under the rug as much as possible. NBC’s coverage will basically define whether they are, in fact, journalists first or nothing more than a ‘state-controlled’ propoganda machine for the IOC.

There had already been many questions raised about the safety of this track.  There are concerns among those who are still scheduled to compete.  People will want to know if the IOC, which portrays itself as the ultimate in humanitarian organizations, has done everything in its power to create the safest possible environment for its participants.

But if the IOC runs from the media at-large, who will ask them the tough questions?

I’ve always respected many of the anchors and reporters, from both the realms of sports and general news, who are working the Olympics for NBC this year and I will watch with interest to see if they become complicit in any soft-pedaling or if they risk ‘biting the hand that feeds them’ to ask the tough questions, speak out and speak up for the facts.

Before today, I had very little interest in the Vancouver Games.  Sadly, someone had to die to pique that interest.