1984 Summer Olympics Boycott - Reasons

Reasons

The USSR announced its intentions to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics on May 8, 1984. Six more countries followed within days: Bulgaria, then East Germany (on May 10, citing the attitude of the U.S. government for "destroy the basis" of its desired participation), followed by Mongolia and Vietnam (both May 11), and then Laos and Czechoslovakia (both May 13), with China formally accepting that it would be present in Los Angeles as the Laotians and Czechs announced their decision to absent themselves.

Afghanistan was the eighth country to boycott the 1984 Olympics. Hungary and Poland were the ninth and tenth countries to join the boycott on May 16 and May 17 respectively, Hungary saying the lives of its athletes would be put in danger if they were to spend time in Los Angeles, Poland saying the United States was engaging in a "campaign aimed at disturbing the Games" and the Soviet Union saying the White House intended to permit any possible massacre of Soviet athletes in their apartments, leaving Romania as the only Soviet ally to participate in the games.

Cuba was the eleventh country to announce its participation in the boycott, making front page news in America because it was a "serious blow to boxing and baseball" (May 24). South Yemen was the twelfth state to drop out (May 27), with Los Angeles Times stating that this was due to their "Marxist" connections. North Korea was the thirteenth state to boycott the 1984 Olympics. Radio Moscow announced Angola's decision to boycott the 1984 Olympics, as the country became the second African state and 15th state to participate in the boycott, after Ethiopia.

Iran decided to boycott 1984 because of "United States interference in the Middle East, its support for the regime occupying Jerusalem and the crimes being committed by the U.S.A. in Latin America, especially in El Salvador." Iran, along with Albania, were the only countries not to attend both the 1980 Moscow and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. For different reasons, Libya also boycotted.

Announcing its intentions on May 8, 1984, the Soviet Union cited security concerns and stated that "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States." A US official said the country had ignored suggestive comments by the Soviets in the weeks building up to the announcement and that, in spite of all the indications, America was "absolutely dumbfounded" when the official announcement actually came. The American media saw the boycott as revenge for the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games in response to the 1979 Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Among those subscribing to the revenge hypothesis was Peter Ueberroth, the chief organizer of the 1984 L.A. Games, who expressed his views in a press conference after the boycott was announced, on the same day that the Olympic torch relay in the United States began in New York City. U.S. President Ronald Reagan later stated his belief that the Soviets feared some of their athletes might defect. As more countries withdrew and the IOC announced on deadline week that it would consider extending the deadline for entry into the Olympics. The three top medal winners from the 1980 Games (which was the subject of a boycott by many nations) in Moscow were among the boycotters, and media analysis noted this would weaken the field of competitors in a number of sports.