For a decade now, the Russian Federation has been prohibited from competing in the Olympic Games. The ban began in the wake of a massive doping scandal in 2014 and continued after President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Last week, though, International Olympic Committee president Kristy Coventry announced that Russia will return to international competition. This decision is nothing less than a moral outrage. Tyranny and human excellence are simply incompatible. By appeasing Putin’s Russia, Coventry and other members of the IOC have decided to prioritize profit and popularity. Bodies representing the athletes of the free world — first and foremost, the U.S. Olympic Committee — ought to take a stand against this debasement of the games.Outrageous as the IOC’s move is, it is perhaps unsurprising — the Olympic Games are notoriously crooked, among the most corrupt events in international sports. For decades, the body has appeased the world’s authoritarians and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party. From ignoring shocking oppression and human rights abuses during Beijing’s 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Games, to shutting down doping investigations, the IOC prioritizes making money over anything else.