Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
You would be forgiven if you thought Russian athletes were still banned from international competition after Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. But it appears they are not only welcomed in places like the Cincinnati Open, but pandered to.
An incident over the weekend has drawn scorn from supporters of Ukraine after an American fan was told to leave a match between Russian players Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova on Sunday because the massive Ukraine flag quietly wrapped around her shoulders was somehow irritating the players.
The expulsion of the fan, identified only as Lola, came after one of the Russian players complained that the sight of the flag at a sporting event was “not nice,” according to sporting media.