Robert Klemko for ESPN asked Ovechkin more questions about his support for Russia than he seemed comfortable with, and got more answers than anyone I’ve seen broach the topic. What would be the bare minimum in general journalism looks like great sports journalism, and I think it’s worth a look, no matter how you feel about Alex’s position. If not the article, at least the transcript on Twitter.
I’m not under the impression that my take matters, but to me, it’s complicated. It’d be easy to condemn an Israeli player blindly backing what his country does, or to stop supporting a Sudanese player propagandizing for the RSF, or of course to call out Americans who laugh it up with their current leader. Russia, and specifically the United Russia party, is at a unique intersection of evil, powerful, and bold, maybe only rivaled by (funnily enough) the United States. Just two days ago, Russian intelligence agents were arrested for allegedly (and you can take the allegations with a grain of salt if you’d like, considering the current state of the DOJ) surveilling and attempting to murder dissidents, including one in the DC area. It’s not a new play for them, but this execution of it hits closer to home than usual.
It’s not a huge leap at all to presume that Ovechkin does whatever his president asks because he wants to stay alive and be able to live in his home country when his NHL days are done. He’s made a point of calling for peace whenever he talks about the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, which I think is worth noting. Sure, a call for peace from a party member is a thinly veiled call for Ukrainian surrender, but other propagandists have no issue saying those unsavory parts loudly and displaying their thirst for land, punishment, and death. I don’t think, if he could answer freely with no looming pressure to be complicit, Alex Ovechkin would say he’s in favor of thousands of civilians being kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. I could be wrong.
Another possibility is that Ovi just doesn’t know what’s going on. A lot of athletes are generally dim, and sports like hockey and football tend to have some of the dimmest. They don’t know what’s happening on a global, regional, national, or local scale, and often take sides regardless. Ovechkin grew up in Russia, got all his education there, intends to live there full-time starting in the next year or two, and has been well occupied in his professional life. If all he’s bothered to learn about the Russo-Ukrainian war is that there is a war and his country is one of the participants, it wouldn’t be that surprising. Before kickoff at one of the DC Defenders games I attended last season (I’m at all of them, come say hi!), Derick Roberson excitedly exclaimed that we were gonna bomb Iran and shouted out Donald Trump. He follows Barack Obama and a bunch of AI accounts. There’s nothing going on up there. It’s not an excuse for supporting awful stuff, but I would rather someone be supporting it out of ignorance than malice. At least then there’s still a chance of growth.
Am I biased here? Absolutely. I’d like to think I would feel the same way whether Ovi was on “my” team or the Rangers or someone I’d never heard of before. I don’t and can’t know that for sure. I’ve been enthralled by his play for years, and his highlights still hit me in a way that no other hockey player’s do. That colors everything. I might be grasping for any remotely charitable interpretation of his actions so that I don’t feel a twinge of guilt covering the Capitals, going to games, buying merchandise. You might be right to think that’s what all this is. It’s something we all have to come to an independent conclusion on. I lean toward one of those charitable interpretations, specifically the safety concern one. I don’t begrudge anyone who doesn’t, or anyone who refuses to engage with the player or the team or the league because of this, or anyone who makes it loudly known in comment sections that what Ovechkin puts his NIL toward is heinous. I only begrudge those who actively root for the worst for Ukrainians, and those who act like caring is the real sin. I trust you to trust your own judgment.
