00:00This is an unfair and discriminatory decision against our athletes.
00:04Around the world, we can all see and know very well
00:07that there are many different conflicts going on.
00:10Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the concerns,
00:14conflicts and controversies that have cast a long shadow over the 2024 Summer Olympics.
00:19Testosterone is not a perfect test.
00:22Many women can have testosterone which is in what would be called male levels.
00:27Yeah, it feels incredible. I mean, it's been a hard couple days,
00:38but right now all I'm feeling is an immense amount of pride.
00:41Sometimes when you pull on a loose thread, the whole sweater comes undone.
00:45That's sort of what happened in the case of the Canada women's soccer team.
00:48Scheduled to play New Zealand on July 25th, a major wrench was thrown into those plans
00:53when a Canadian-operated drone was spotted observing their rivals
00:56practicing a few days ahead of the match.
00:58Bev Priestman asked HR about how to handle the fact that an analyst was uncomfortable cheating.
01:05She mentioned that the top 10 teams in the world do it.
01:08It is forbidden to use drones for recording others without their consent in France.
01:12Before long, those involved with the scandal faced a one-year ban from the sport,
01:17along with a host of other consequences for Canada.
01:23Even the Olympians themselves were not immune to the chaotic spirit that seemed to surround
01:27this iteration of the summer games. Although a futuristic water-based cooling system was
01:32proposed as an alternative to air conditioning, it quickly became clear that more intense measures
01:36would be required in what is reportedly the hottest games ever on record.
01:40Our short-term responsibility to give to high-performance athletes
01:45the best condition in order to perform, and that's the reason why we've
01:49offered them the opportunity to rent a temporary AC.
01:53As the temperature rose, though,
01:54the organizing committee acquiesced to providing athletes with air conditioners, for a price.
01:59This created a clash of classes, so to speak.
02:01Critics deemed the system unfair to participating countries who were unable to afford the extra cost.
02:08Number 8. The Last Supper
02:09Really, there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group.
02:17In a general sense, Olympics opening ceremonies are meant to not only celebrate that year's
02:22host country and what their unique culture has to offer the games, but the games themselves,
02:26as well as participating athletes. In 2024, though,
02:30these sentiments were overshadowed by culture war fallout.
02:33Festivité, one segment of the opening ceremony which featured drag queens in a scene reminiscent
02:38of Da Vinci's The Last Supper, came under heavy fire from France's right wing.
02:41The Bishops' Conference of France referred to Festivité as a, quote,
02:45derision and mockery of Christianity.
02:58The Paris 2024 organizing committee defended the segment, and Barbara Butch,
03:02who appeared in the scene, is reported to have contacted
03:05French legal authorities in response to the online hate campaign.
03:15Number 7. World Aquatics Athletics Ban
03:28This is by far the toughest restriction against transgender athletes.
03:32Swimming's international governing board saying they consulted with scientists and
03:36policymakers and voted to essentially ban trans swimmers from elite competitions,
03:40including the Olympics.
03:42Historically a thorny, contentious issue in the world of sport,
03:45controversy inevitably followed when, in 2022,
03:49World Aquatics forbade the participation of transgender women.
03:52In 2023, World Athletics followed suit. Writing for Science, a peer-reviewed journal,
03:58researchers Eric Villain and Joanna Harper found that trans women bore demonstrably
04:02little physical advantage over their cisgender peers.
04:12The biggest change for me is that I'm happy.
04:16In addition, they stated that the organizations had bowed to social
04:19pressure without taking science into account. Further criticism was directed towards wording
04:24which prohibited cisgender women with disorders of sex development from competing.
04:28In March 2024, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe declared that the ban was, quote,
04:34here to stay.
04:35Obviously issues related to body size, airway size, hand size,
04:39foot size, perhaps bone density, and so forth. But I think the main thing is
04:43just the interactions of exercise training and skeletal muscle.
04:50This controversy was a holdover from the 2020 Summer Games, wherein testing revealed that
04:55over 20 members of the Chinese swimming team were confirmed to have used performance-enhancing
05:00drugs. Despite this, the athletes did not face repercussions and even won medals that year.
05:06That wasn't the end of it. 11 of those that tested positive were once again selected to
05:10the Olympic team that year. This scandal developed into an ongoing feud between the World Anti-Doping
05:16Agency and its American counterpart, with each accusing the other of sinister cover-ups.
05:25The Dutch Olympic Committee found itself stranded in scalding hot water for its selection of
05:29Steven van der Velde in beach volleyball. Van der Velde is a convicted sex offender,
05:34reportedly grooming a young British girl, plying her with alcohol, and taking advantage of her.
05:39Found guilty on three such counts, the judge who handed out this sentencing called it a, quote,
05:44career end for van der Velde. Clearly, that did not end up being the case. The Dutch Volleyball
05:48Federation defended van der Velde, referring to him as being totally reformed and, quote,
05:53an exemplary professional and human being. As a means of mitigating the controversy,
05:58it was announced that van der Velde would be accommodated separately from other Dutch Olympians.
06:04Argentina vs. Morocco
06:06It seems fair to say that team sports have the tendency to cause flared tempers and hurt pride.
06:12The men's football opening match was a testament to this. The riotous outbreak stemmed from a
06:17feeling that Argentina's team was being given an unfair advantage to win the match, in this case,
06:2215 extra minutes of stoppage time. When Argentina scored in the 16th minute,
06:27Morocco fans made their displeasure known, storming the pitch and causing a general
06:31disturbance. The game resumed behind closed doors, with Morocco winning after the contentious
06:37goal was disqualified. French secularism policies
06:53And that's a very delicate way of putting what's long been a source of tension in modern-day
06:57French society. In line with the aforementioned policies, athletes representing France are
07:02forbidden from wearing religious garments while competing, per the French National Olympic and
07:06Sports Committee. France has had a globally notorious reputation for strictness when it
07:17comes specifically to wearing the hijab publicly, and that was no less apparent at this year's games.
07:23French sprinter Sucan Basila claimed to have been blacklisted from the opening ceremony on
07:27account of her religious beliefs and commitment to the hijab.
07:43Number 2. Anything involving the Seine
07:53Maybe 2024 wasn't the best year to try something new. The Seine, one of France's
08:01defining features, isn't exactly renowned for its sparkling, pristine waters. In fact,
08:07it's quite the opposite. Intended to host the men's and women's marathon swimming,
08:11overwhelming bacteria levels led to concerns as to the health, hygiene, and general sanitary
08:16state of participating athletes. While organizers were optimistic that clear skies and the sun's UV
08:35rays would drastically reduce the risk, high levels of bacteria such as E. coli forced significant
08:40delays and a number of postponements. That's not even mentioning that this was the first year the
08:45opening ceremony would be held on a river, bringing with it unprecedented safety and
08:50security concerns. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell
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09:121. Nations at War
09:26The Olympics often act as a lightning rod for hot-button political issues. In 2024,
09:32it was immediately clear that the participation of Israel and Russia,
09:36two countries involved in devastating ongoing humanitarian conflicts, would be an inescapable
09:41topic. Pro-Palestinian protests were frequently noted at games involving Israeli teams,
09:57such as at the Israel vs. Mali opening football match. Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed
10:02to compete as individual neutral athletes, unassociated with a country, a move that has
10:07been described as controversial. Critics have chastised Russia's so-called special treatment
10:12by the IOC, despite its frequent violations of the Olympic truce. Which 2024 Summer Olympics
10:27moments shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments. Did you enjoy this video?
10:37Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
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