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With less than a month before the Olympics, Jin Gaoxue may be forced to choose between his life’s work and the future.
Gaucher, a Canadian basketball player from Mission, British Columbia, gave birth to daughter Sophie on March 19 and is still breastfeeding. However, due to the pandemic, the athlete’s family was banned from participating in the Tokyo Olympics.
The new mother and athlete expressed her frustration in an Instagram video post on Wednesday night.
“Now I am forced to decide between breastfeeding mothers or Olympic athletes. I can’t have them at the same time,” said the 37-year-old. “Tokyo says there are no friends, no family, no exceptions.”
The International Olympic Committee says it is unlikely to be abnormal
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) told CBC News on Thursday that “uncertified overseas persons” are unlikely to be allowed to participate.
“The National Olympic Committee (NOC) is responsible for the formation of its delegation during the Olympic Games. The IOC realizes that a small part of it has been dealing with athletes’ requests for bringing children, and the specific circumstances are analyzed in detail.
CBC Sports has contacted the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Basketball Association for comments.
Gao Xue told CBC News that she initially believed that she would be allowed to take Sophie and her husband Ben Gaoxue to Kariya, Japan, the former host city of the basketball team. But this quickly changed.
“Once I heard that there were no fans, I thought’well, no fans,'” Gao Xue said. But she thinks they will make an exception for breastfeeding mothers. If there are no exceptions, “I think it will be easier to bring milk home.”
In her social media post, Gaucher said that she tried all the “traditional routes” to get permission to bring Sophie to Tokyo. In an interview with CBC News, she said that COC sympathized with her situation, but did not make an exception.
“Everyone says they are on the boat, but no one can do anything,” she said.
Possible next steps for sports tax cut courts
Irene Durant is a trial attorney in Ontario who was not involved in Gao Xue’s case. She said the next step players can take—after dealing directly with the IOC and COC—will consider her The case is submitted to the Sports Arbitration Court (CAS).
Durant said: “If she says she has exhausted her options, then her public posts and media interviews seem to be her last effort here to make people change their minds.”
The Tokyo Olympics organizers recently announced a 50% capacity limit, which means that each Olympic venue can accommodate up to 10,000 people and can only be composed of Japanese citizens. Family or friends are not allowed to participate.
“As we know in other areas of society, sometimes uniform rules affect people very differently and can lead to discrimination,” Durant said.
At the same time, international media and sponsors will flock to Japan.
“I started to get a little frustrated because in my mind, I don’t know that my daughter and I can breastfeed differently from sponsors and the media. What’s the difference,” Gaucher said.
She previously represented Canada in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and considered retiring after the Canadian team was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Rio Olympics, but finally decided to return to participate in the last Olympics in 2018.
She said that the basketball team will participate in the Olympic Games abroad for 28 days and that she has skipped the team’s recent FIBA ??America’s Cup tournament in Puerto Rico.
“I don’t have enough milk to train to be a high-level athlete, get my hips back in shape, and feed her while storing a 28-day supply,” Gaucher said.
‘Let working mothers become normal’
Gaucher also stated that she is studying the delivery of milk, which is a “complex” option she is still exploring.
Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold (Mandy Bujold) was previously denied qualification for the Olympics due to pregnancy and postpartum due to her adjustments during the pandemic.
She is now submitting her case to arbitration to fight back with the International Olympic Committee. It is expected that in the next few days it will be decided whether to allow her to participate in the Tokyo competition.
Gao Xue also said that she heard from the women’s basketball players on the US team that they tried to bring the children to Tokyo, but to no avail.
Durant said: “When you are trying to persuade someone to change their views on a certain policy, or when you are defending a case, it is always helpful to have multiple stories.”
Gaucher pleaded with supporters to help in any way possible.
“It’s 2021. Let’s see if we can make working mothers normal.”
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