We are told as children to do what we love, to pursue our dreams and eventually happiness and money will follow. Blaze your own trail, and you will be fulfilled.
We are also told that we are in a world that has moved beyond violence. That after the Cold War, we had somehow moved past using force to get what we want.
Try telling that to Vladyslav Heraskevych.
A 23-year-old skeleton rider, Heraskevych is a trailblazer. With his whole life in front of him, he put Ukraine on his back at only 18 years old, becoming the first Ukrainian to compete at the skeleton world championships in 2017.
Like so many young athletes, Heraskevych is full of potential and unbridled enthusiasm for his sport. Now, he’s bracing to defend his country from a foreign invasion.
Heraskevych spoke with the Associated Press on Sunday and committed his help to the Ukrainian cause against Russia.
While representing Ukraine for the second time in his career, Heraskevych, like so many of his countrymen, has been pulled into a conflict he neither wanted nor started. He should be celebrating Ukraine’s Olympic competition in skeleton and training for his next competition. Instead, he has armed himself and is standing ready to repel an unprovoked Russian invasion of his homeland.
The moral depravity of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is impossible to overstate. The ensuing humanitarian disaster and the blatant breach of a nation’s sovereignty are only the tip of the iceberg. This is the one of the greatest escalations of force in Europe since World War II, and the voice of outspoken athletes reflects worldwide fear and a desire for peace.
Ukrainians like Heraskevych are given no choice but to stand and fight against invaders. But soccer players in the English Premier League — such as West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko, Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton defender Vitaliy Mykolenko — are forced to watch from afar. Yarmolenko was given several days leave because of the crisis, while Mykolenko and Zinchenko, who was in tears during pre-game rituals in a match between Everton and Manchester City, played on.
Russian athletes, such as tennis stars Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev and hockey player Alexander Ovechken, have already spoken out against war. Self-proclaimed democratically elected President Vladimir Putin does not speak for all Russians with his horrific invasion, but the safety of the players and their families could be threatened over any and all comments they make.
It is easy to ask athletes, with their dramatically powerful platform to advocate for social change, to take a stand on issues that don’t necessarily affect them personally. But when their home and potentially their family is put in danger by a crisis, that ask becomes much more than a responsibility.
