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Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games

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Competing in the Olympics is the opportunity of a lifetime. It is something for which many promising athletes train and prepare for a good deal of their young lives. But back in 1980, the Olympic hopes of the entire United States Summer Games team were dashed when former president Carter made the decision to withdraw, a direct response in protest to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Hopes of Olympic glory were, for many, an impossible dream since there was little or no chance to ever compete again.

Boycott is a book written about some of the athletes who lost their once in a lifetime opportunity to compete in the Olympics and wear the coveted Olympic medals. It was a very tough decision, and the politics of the situation are presented several times in the book. Former president Carter felt it was the right thing to do and he had the support of most of the U.S. Congress, as well as the support of a large percentage of the population. But the Olympic hopefuls on the United States team felt otherwise. Many had trained and fought hard for many years to qualify for the Olympics, only to see their Olympic dreams go up in smoke, and all because of politics.

Eighteen different athletes are profiled in this book and each has his/her own story to share, expressing their feelings both then and now. For some, the feelings of bitterness were very real back in 1980 and they were extremely angry at Carter for allowing politics to influence sports. The Olympics were supposed to be free from political influence and while politics certainly played a role in past Olympic events, these athletes did not want to see history repeat itself. They knew they would likely never get another chance to compete in the Summer games, and many voice the bitterness they felt at the time- and still feel today- when they think about this decision and the profound impact it has had on their lives.

While most of the 1980 Summer Game Olympic athletes were very unhappy, there were those who cared less than others. For some, it wasn't the end of a career in sports so it wasn't that important. They still had a promising professional career just ahead. For others, the boycott was grudgingly accepted because, as much as they wanted to compete, they felt the decision was in the best interests of the United States. Others backed Carter's decision because they felt that it was only right to support their president and respect his decision.

The fact that this book includes opinions from athletes whose opinions vary so much is one of its strongest points. The authors obviously did not intend to use this book to make a political statement. If they did, they would have concentrated only on the athletes who were angry; only those who were accepting of the decision; only those who were indifferent; etc. Instead, the book presents viewpoints from multiple angles. The feelings presented by these eighteen athletes are pretty clear, but they vary from person to person and about the only emotion they all share in common is that of disappointment.

Between the profiles of the selected athletes, Boycott includes a rundown of the political facts as they have been recorded, from the initial invasion of Afghanistan to the attempted lawsuit brought on by the athletes against the government and the Olympic committee. Former Vice- President Mondale wrote the preface to this book, but one thing missing from this book is a response from former President Carter himself. We know that Carter would still back his decision, but it would have been interesting to hear a response from Carter about his decision from 1980 and how he feels about it now.

Overall, Boycott is a very good book about the withdraw of the United States athletic team from the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games. It offers a good summary of the political situation, varying opinions from the selected group of eighteen athletes, and a preface from former vice president Mondale. The book steers clear of opinion and lets the athletes speak for themselves; expressing their feelings of bitterness, depression, indifference, and sometimes anger toward the politicians in Washington who stole their once in a lifetime opportunity.

With impeccable research - unearthing documents from the archives of the former Soviet Union and material from the U.S. Department of State - along with numerous interviews with athletes, authors Tom and Jerry Caraccioli chronicle the decision by President Jimmy Carter to spearhead the successful drive to convince the United States Olympic Committee to boycott the 1980 Moscow Summer Games.

With the backdrop of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the book briskly moves along the parallel lanes of the politics in sports and the politics within the Cold War, which ultimately merged on the Olympic stage.

Now - as then - Vice President Walter F. Mondale, through his Foreword and quotes within the text, carries the heavy load of explaining the administration's position. But the explanations - including denials on a number of allegations, including that the administration pressured USOC sponsors to support the boycott - continue to ring hollow for many athletes nearly 30 years later. "Everything I worked for all those years was taken away by a peanut farmer they called they president," says wrestler Gene Mills.

The Appendix is a fitting tribute to the athletes; the roster of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, minus the asterisks - Did Not Compete - that haunt their official U.S. Olympic biographies. The book ultimately is a belated salute to athletes who have an * where achievement through competition should have been celebrated.

"Boycott" is a comprehensive look at both the circumstances of the United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow and some of the athletes that were affected by the boycott. The book has nine chapters that explain the events leading up to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan; the White House's decision to boycott the Olympics; the Olympic Committee's decision to go along with the boycott; a lawsuit filed by some of the Olympians; the result of the Olympic games; messages from some of the Olympians to Jimmy Carter; and a complete list of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Scattered throughout the book are stories of 18 of the athletes that made the Olympic team only to see their dreams shattered by the boycott.

"Boycott" is a nicely done, evenhanded look at the events and people involved in the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The book provides both sides of the story (Walter Mondale wrote the forward). The reasons for the boycott and the subsequent lawsuit are certainly interesting to read about, as was the ceremony the White House held as a sort of consolation prize for the athletes. The epilogue about the efforts to have the medals given to the athletes at the ceremony declared Congressional Gold Medals is also very interesting.

While the political aspects were interesting to read, my favorite parts of the book were the athletes' stories. Authors Tom and Jerry Caraccioli focus on athletes from all different sports for whom the 1980 Olympics was their last chance of making an Olympic team. Outside of Isiah Thomas, most of the athletes are unknown today and you can't help wonder how performing in the Olympics would have changed their lives (this is particularly true in the case of Ron Galimore, the first African-American to make a U.S. Olympics gymnastics team). It is interesting not only to read the athletes reactions to the boycott (some are still bitter, some were but aren't any more, and some never were) but how they became Olympians in the first place. Each story is equally compelling.

"Boycott" is a well-done look at politics, athletes, and broken dreams.

Boycott
Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games
Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli
Review: Gary Mack
Rating: 5- stars

Sometimes the most complex matters break down in the most rudimentary ways. Though I'm no apologist for his country club politics, it was refreshing to hear President Bush state in a recent ESPN interview that he would not support a boycott of the China Olympics over Tibet's claim of occupation, preferring to leave politics out of the world's greatest sporting event. Of course, Bush was a pretty good baseball player who once threw a perfect strike as the President in his infamous post 9/11 toss to the plate.
President Carter on the other hand, known for his limp softball hits barely making it over the second baseman's glove in his pre-election exhibitions down in Plains, Georgia, had no problem with his decision to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Carter's verdict to do so seemed a "quick trigger" in response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Perhaps, if Carter were a better athlete, the plight of so many of our nation's very best athletes in 1980 would have taken a different course. It's just a theory...
In "Boycott," Tom Carraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli carefully build a narrative on the times and the issues related to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In between the personal stories of the athletes, the Caraccioli brothers integrate chapters on the Carter Doctrine, American and Soviet's historical relationship with Afghanistan, the USOC vote, the Athletes lawsuit, and the results of the boycotted Moscow games. Using tight vignettes to present serious information without losing the reader's interest, the authors dispassionately mark the course of those times, tepidly revealing their point of view on the over-all issue through the poignant life stories of the athletes themselves. It's quite a tight rope act.
There's even a foreword from former Vice-President Mondale, who admits he wasn't much of an athlete himself. Though Mondale apologizes to the athletes, he never wavers on the Carter Administration's strong arm tactics to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics, as it was his April 12, 1980 emotional plea to the USOC House of Delegates that really sealed the deal for the Carter Administration. Vice-President Mondale insists the boycott was the correct decision, even though it's clear now, and reaffirmed in the text, that the CIA was gleeful the Soviets pushed into Afghanistan and caused their own Viet Nam. In the thick of the Cold War, the thinking then was to bog down the Soviets in a political and economic quagmire that would eventually seal their doom. Thanks to an obscure liberal Congressman named Charlie Wilson, the Stinger, and a new American President named Ronald Reagan, the Soviet Union imploded on to the ash heap of history. I guess the plan worked.
Transcending all the historical analysis, all the speeches, all the rhetoric, all the political posturing, comes the stories of the athletes themselves, stories of the ghosts amongst us; their training methods, their victories, their dreams. Much like the final scene in the movie, "Hoosiers," where the camera pans to the black and white photo of the Championship team as the sounds of yesteryear echo to the audience, the personal sagas of the athletes in Boycott leave you sentimental and numb.
Sure we've heard of Isiah Thomas and Bill Hanzlik of NBA stardom but what about names like Don Paige, Glenn Mills, Gwen Gardner, Gene Mills, Craig Beardsly, Sue Walsh, Amy Koopman, Carol Blezejowski, Luci Collins, David Kimes, Brian Gust, Lisa Buese, Linda Cornelius Waltman, or Thomas Schuler. In a country of big land, what monument, what museum, what Wheatie box cover remembers these forgotten names?
The famed sportscaster, Dick Enberg, sums it up best on the back sleeve of the Carracioli's book,
...."Thanks to the authors we are reminded of their brave, but painful sacrifice. This book, then, becomes their belated, but deserved, Olympic salute."

Thus, Tom and Jerry Carracioli's Boycott is as noble as the efforts and ambitions of all our forgotten 1980 Summer Olympic athletes.

Sleep well Mr. Carter.

As the 2008 Summer Olympics came to an end, my mind wandered back to the 1980 Olympics and the team that didn't travel to Moscow. In the face of the Soviet Union's continued aggression, President Jimmy Carter announced the US Olympic team would not be traveling to Moscow. Hoping to galvanize the rest of the world, Carter withheld the US team hoping other nations would join the boycott and embarrass the Soviet Union into withdrawing troops. At the center was the US Olympic team and athletes who had spent a lifetime preparing for competition. Ultimately, the Olympics continued without the US team and US athletes were relegated to asterisk status... might have beens. Faced with the threat of withheld passports and the US Olympic Committee acting on their behalf, athletes who had spent years single mindedly working towards Olympic competition, athletes were suddenly cut adrift. Left to watch the competition on TV, many were beset by the thought of what might have been. While all the athletes were given a Congressional Medal in recognition of their sacrifice, the athletes were largely unrecognized for their efforts and loss. Only a few went on to capture Olympic glory in the wildly successful LA Olympics four summers later. Most had to let go of the dream and move onto the next phase of their lives. Some athletes banded together and sued, only to be dismissed out of hand.

Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli have gathered the memories of various athletes about that turbulent summer. They blend these memories and the ongoing political wrangling into a comprehensive look at the few who paid a huge price. Described as the "most painful decision" of the Carter administration was later summed up by Vice president Walter Mondale 28 years later. "I know the athletes were asked to pay a price that couldn't be repaid."

This is an excellent detailed account of the decisions that lead to and ultimate effect of the 1980 Olympic boycott. Highly recommended.

For some, the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was not just a war; it was the beginning of the end of their dreams. "Boycott: The Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games" tells the stories of America's Olympic caliber athletes during the 80s boycott of the Moscow games. Stories of the people who trained all their life for the ultimate competition yet were denied the opportunity and speculations of gold medals that could have been won lost fill this seminal volume. With a special foreword by former Vice President Walter Mondale, "Boycott" is an eye opening and tragic account of the personal damage done by the 1980 Olympic games boycott.

I was a political junkie and a college student in 1979 and 1980 when the Iranian "students" entered the U. S. embassy in Tehran, Iran and the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The United States had recently suffered a terrible defeat in Vietnam, approximately five years earlier American helicopters had evacuated Americans from the roof of the United States embassy in Saigon.
One of America's staunchest allies in the Middle East, the Shah of Iran, had just been overthrown and the American Embassy in Tehran overrun. All American diplomatic personnel were taken as hostages and it was clear to everyone that there was very little that the United States could do about it. Finally, in this atmosphere of perceived American weakness, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Although the invasion turned out to be the last gasp of a collapsing regime, at the time, many thought that it was a move by the Soviets to control the entire Persian Gulf.
In this volatile and insecure atmosphere, U. S. President Jimmy Carter had no choice but to "stand tough" against the Soviet Union. Since military countermeasures were not possible, he was restricted to reducing trade and cultural exchanges. The 1980 summer Olympic games were to take place in Moscow, so President Carter was presented with an opportunity to punish the Soviet Union without risking a great deal. Therefore, President Carter called for and was able to "lead" a boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games. This book is a description of that boycott, providing a complete historical context and descriptions of some of the American athletes who made the team but were not allowed to compete. Their opinions on the boycott are also included.
The best part of this book is that the authors take a great deal of time explaining the global circumstances that existed at that time, even providing a history of the leadership situation in Afghanistan. Without that, the expressions of frustration on the part of the athletes would present a one-sided and narrow perspective on the boycott. As subsequent events have demonstrated, when domestic political pressures demand that Presidents act, having a non-violent safety valve is the least dangerous alternative. That is what the Olympic boycott provided President Carter, and eventually the Soviet armies were defeated in Afghanistan. This was a major factor in the collapse of communism and the end of the nearly five decades-long Cold War. While it is true that the Olympic athletes suffered, it is minor compared to the level of suffering that would have existed had Carter decided to execute a more "robust" response to the Soviet actions. Fortunately, some of the Olympians understand that.

While it's probably not fair for me to write a review on this book, as I'm one of the athletes in it, I just wanted to thank Tom and Jerry Caraccioli for the work they put into this.

In all the conversations, they found the real stories of us, the athletes. What I ended up reading brought back so many emotions, pain and joy, and ultimately, pride.

I know it's been a long time, and it's hard to explain that we don't dwell on this, but it's always there, it's who we have become. You've done such a great job in the book, and I'm so proud to have been a part, that it almost makes it all worth it.

I am usually sceptical about reading sports books because many times they devolve into stats, averages and numbers. But as I read this book, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very well written book about an important moment in American history. I was deeply saddened to see how athletes who had slaved and worked so hard to become Olympians, saw their dreams snatched away because of politics.

Olympians have a very short window of opportunity in which to achieve their goals. They make so many sacrifices, physically, mentally, emotionally and in many cases financially. Many who qualified for the 1980 Olympics thought they had it made as they would be able to compete against the best in the world. Unfortunately for them, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and President Jimmy Carter decided that among the ways to show US disapproval would be to enact trade sanctions, food sanctions and withdrawing its athletes from the Olympics which were to be held in Moscow. The saddest part about this was that for many of these athletes, they would never again compete as some were not able to sustain the heights they attained just before the 1980 Olympics. Many found that they were either physically unable to stay in Olympic shape or that they just lost the drive to try again. It is hard to accept that these young people's quest for excellence was thwarted by Carter's need to make a symbolic gesture. What exactly did the boycott achieve? Carter meant to punish the Soviets but in a way he punished the American athletes. Not a single life was saved by anyone not showing up for the games. The conflict in Afghanistan went on for many years after the boycott so what really was accompolished?

I found it ironic the pressure that was put to bear on the USOC to pass a vote to boycott the Olympics. Alot of the rhetoric used is very reminiscent of what I see in politics today. The USOC was told " If the US decides to participate in the Olympics, it would be a tacit approval of Soviet actions" and "If you vote not to support the president, you are doing the worse thing you can possibly do". In addition to all the rhetoric, it appears that undue pressure was applied to sponsors to renege on deals that they had made to the USOC. Of course the government denied any involvement in this but the coincidence is hard to ignore.

Some athletes are still angry, they feel robbed. But the vast majority of the eighteen athletes interviewed for this book, have come to take it in stride. Many believe that the boycott was a bad idea and should not have happened, others think that Carter took the best decision he could under the circumstances and in accordance with his advisers. I have to say that I was very proud of all of the athletes in this book. Despite the fact that their dreams were shattered, most have chosen to see the benefits that Olympic training provided them in all facets of their lives. One of the most disappointing things to see is that to this day Walter Mondale, the then Vice President and a key player in this event, still insists that the right decision was made. Maybe I just wanted him to show that he really understood what he and his government took from these talented people. In the foreward to the book he does acknowledge the loss that these Olympians suffered but I felt it was a bit hollow. Just my view, some one else may read the same thing and think he came across as sincere.

This book is so well constructed as the authors present the story without interjecting any personal agenda. The story unfolds from the mouths of the athletes themselves without any commentary added to sway opinions. As you read you make your own assessments and judgements as to how you feel about what occured. Another strength of the book was that interspersed with the athletes stories is the timeline and unfolding of the conflict in Afghanistan and the political events that led to the boycott. This fact made the book much more than just a sports book but a greatly informative rendering of history. A great read and I would highly recommend.