I feel weird about posting anything on Ex-Twitter nowadays. Truthfully I’m not overly comfortable with most of the self-promotion game, but I’m always grateful when someone else shares their work and even better if they share a bit of the self behind the name. So that’s what I try to do too, even though it feels unnecessarily egotistical.

But now, in the death spiral of what used to be Twitter… god. I find it problematic to say the least. I miss the old academic Twitter. No, it wasn’t perfect at all, but I found it super useful and I really do miss the days before Elno fragmented everything.

Anyway, putting aside that debate, I couldn’t help myself the other day when I learned that the International Olympic Committee released its plans to update the Olympic Charter. So I tweeted about it, and about why it’s another example of sportswashing and Potemkinism, especially in the context of the Russian war against Ukraine. I’ve been vocal about this before, especially on German television, where the excellent show Sportschau has given me multiple opportunities to express my disappointment that organized global sport hasn’t come out with a strong moral stand against the Russian war. I think it’s an important message. I really wish we saw some ethics and courage among sports leadership.

Anyway, to show that Ex-Twitter is not quite yet dead, I was approached by an editor from Inside the Games, who saw my little thread. He invited me to write a short opinion piece for the outlet, which I was of course happy to do. It’s a nice reminder of the value in sharing your thoughts, even if you don’t always feel particularly comfortable doing so.

Read the op-ed here on Inside the Games.