Rethinking Olympic glory
Everyone loves the ideals of the Olympics. But a group of scholars speaking at a Harvard symposium on Friday wondered if today’s Games are living up to their promise of excellence and sportsmanship. Danyel Reiche, a visiting fellow at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science and an associate professor for comparative politics at American University of Beirut, convened the symposium, “Who Will Win in Rio?,” with just four weeks until the opening ceremony for the Summer Games in Brazil. Numerous controversies surround the first South American city to host the Olympics, including infrastructure delays, health concerns (Zika virus, water pollution), and security. “Whether the host cities benefit or not, what’s been going on in Rio is extraordinary and tragic,” said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College. Calling the International Olympic Committee “out of touch,” Zimbalist, the author of “Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and World Cup,” cited...