Avery Brundage

Avery Brundage, a titan of international sports, was the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee, serving for two decades. Before his administrative career, he was an Olympic athlete himself, competing in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, though he failed to win any medals.

Brundage's legacy is deeply tarnished by his staunch opposition to boycotting the 1936 Berlin Olympics despite Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews. He famously declared that "politics have no place in sport," a sentiment many saw as enabling Nazi propaganda. His subsequent leadership of the IOC continued to be plagued by accusations of antisemitism and racism, including his notorious handling of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, where he insisted the Games continue immediately after the Israeli athletes were murdered.

There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest Brundage possessed even a whisper of Jewish identity or origin. In fact, his actions and public statements often indicated quite the opposite, making his "Kvell-worthiness" score an easy goose egg for anyone hoping to claim him. He truly was a man of his (problematic) time, dedicated to an amateur ideal that often seemed to overlook human rights. His career serves as a stark reminder that even great administrators can be on the wrong side of history.