Euro Cup 2012: Boycott Would Put a Black Eye on the Games

You would hope an important event like the Eurocup would be all about celebrating sport and competition in general, but it appears there will be a dark cloud hanging over the games in 2012.

According to ForeignPolicy.com, several European politicians are looking to use the games as a chance to protest one of the event's co-hosts: Ukraine.

This is a result of reported human rights violations taking place in Ukraine, namely the imprisonment of the country's former Prime Minister who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence.

Thankfully, while some country's politicians will boycott the games, there are no teams who are involved in Eurocup 2012 that have cancelled.

While their intentions might be genuine, politicians must realize this is not a good thing for the Eurocup. The last thing the organizers of the event want is for a sporting event like this to be overshadowed by something that has nothing to do with it.

Looking at the history of sports in general and the various problems the world has seen over the course of human history, and the same always rings true: sports transcends politics every time.

It tends to be a release from the problems of society and everyday life. A boycott of the games by any team wouldn't solve the problems in Ukraine and would only throw gas on the fire that is the overwhelming controversy that is developing.

This year will be another exciting Eurocup and while I wouldn't tell anyone to not stand up for what they believe in, teams can make more of a statement by taking the big stage and making their voice heard that way.

That way, supporters of the human rights cause in Ukraine can still help the process while not ruining the game we all love.