Thread by @dontwantadothis

Good op-ed by the Div. of Medical Ethics chair at NYU's Grossman School of Med. But the one thing he neglects to mention is that the lack of appropriate policy & shunting of responsibility onto uninformed individuals mirrors that of governments &...

statnews.com/2024/08/09/noa…

institutions throughout the pandemic. These Olympics have been the world in microcosm.

He says: "I can’t believe that...doctors, the [IOC], or any national Olympic organization would invoke the rationale that athletes get to decide whether to compete."

Really? Look around you.

(And note that NYU's healthcare system has done the same; pot/kettle.)

He says it's "absurd to leave the final decision to compete at the Olympics to any athlete. They will all say yes. Their focus is on winning, most are young and feel immortal, and they aren’t thinking much...

either about others or the long-term impact of risky competition on their health."

But has he met...people? Perceived invulnerability, lack of responsibility for others, & failure to appreciate future harms when making behavioral decisions have been hallmarks of the pandemic.

He says, "It’s up to the adults in the Olympic room — doctors, trainers, officials, coaches, and others — to keep the athletes as safe as they can. That is exactly what their Code of Ethics...commits them to do."

But note, the CDC & WHO also have codes of ethics. HC systems too.

He says "Leaving decisions about competition up to each athlete is abnegating the duty to protect all who are participating in the games."

Well, yes. Lots of abnegation of duty going on. Just look at the mask ban bills in his state. Just ask medically vulnerable communities.

He says "It is an ethical farce for any sports organization to shrug its shoulders and leave competition decisions to young athletes who have been training for years and will ignore anything that might prevent them from fulfilling their dreams."

Yup, that's about the size of it.