The question of bravery among athletes comes up often in our activism-obsessed sports landscape. In Ukraine, that bravery takes on a different meaning.
Oleksandr Usyk, the heavyweight champion whom many consider one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, has joined the Kyiv territorial defense battalion. Usyk is supposed to rematch former champion Anthony Joshua this summer, which could set the stage for an undisputed heavyweight clash with Tyson Fury later in the year. Instead, he has taken up arms.
He’s joined by former lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko. Lomachenko is considered the most likely opponent for champion George Kambosos Jr., who holds the belts Lomachenko lost to Teofimo Lopez. Lomachenko is likely a future Hall of Famer and has a chance to reassert himself as one of the best in the sport. Instead, he is in Ukraine with his former Olympic teammate Usyk.
The mayor of Kyiv is Vitali Klitschko, a former heavyweight champion who has also taken up arms to defend his city and country. And he is joined by his brother Wladimir, who reigned as a heavyweight champion for over nine years, the second-longest championship run in heavyweight history.
Volodymyr Bezsonov, who played for the Soviet Union’s national soccer team and played most of his career for Dynamo Kyiv, promised that “we will defend our motherlands and our homes” in a video. He is 63 years old. Ukrainian soccer hooligans have also joined the fight, including fans of Dynamo Kyiv.
Some Russian athletes have also exhibited bravery by speaking out against the war started by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Tennis player Andrey Rublev wrote “no war please” on a camera after his recent victory. Soccer player Fyodor Smolov, who plays for Dynamo Moscow and for Russia’s national team, posted a broken heart next to a Ukrainian flag while saying, “No to war.”
The bravery among Ukrainians and among Russians speaking out against the war can be seen everywhere, including from athletes in both nations. They are to be commended, and their sacrifices should help put many things in our cushy American sports environment into perspective.
