Today in history: The U.S. boycotts the Moscow Olympics
Jimmy Carter ordered the boycott in retaliation for the invasion of Afghanistan
March 21, 1980: President Jimmy Carter told the U.S. Olympic team that he was ordering a boycott of the Summer Games in Moscow. Carter's boycott of the Moscow Olympics was retaliation for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Kremlin rejection of his demand to pull out. Carter also cut off grain shipments to the Soviets and banned Soviet fishing boats from U.S. territorial waters. The Soviets retaliated for the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics by boycotting the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Quote of the day
"Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease." — Jimmy Carter
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
More from West Wing Reports...
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
‘Social media is the new tabloid’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Can the NBA survive FBI’s gambling investigation?Talking Points A casualty of the ‘sports gambling revolution’
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are hindering the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force