INSANE: Olympics should institute age minimum for figure skating | Rare Historical Photos

BEIJING — Kamila Valieva should not be skating at the Olympics. Not just because she failed a drug test taken Christmas Day. Not just because she competes for the Russian Olympic Committee, a shell corporation for Russia. Not just because this whole event has become a sham. Valieva should not be skating at the Olympics because she is 15 years old.

Children should compete against children. Adults should compete against adults. The various intertwined acronyms running all this—the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, the Court of Arbitration for Sport—nod at this reality by accepting WADA’s designation of “protected persons”: minors and anyone else who lacks legal capacity. If they commit violations, WADA says, they should be prosecuted differently because they don’t fully understand the consequences of their actions.