The immediate association with “Sochi” is unfortunately not the Olympic Games, but instead Russia’s human-rights-crushing anti-gay law; that’s exactly what the Olympic Games shouldn’t be about. The Olympics should be a time of unity and healthy competition, not a time for homosexual oppression.

It’s useless to argue now that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should’ve done something to fight for the rights of all of the athletes and those in attendance at the Games, but it’s more important to look at what we should be doing in the future.

What is the next step? Everything begins with the IOC and what they ask of the host cities. Hosting the Olympics is a privilege, not a right, which means the IOC is in complete control of which candidate city they would like the Olympics to be held.

Agreements between host cities and the IOC should include a separate clause specifically protecting human rights and requiring that no such law that would violate infringe on that protection be put in place before the Games.

Sochi, along with the Berlin games of 1936 won’t go down in history for the athletics, but for the oppression. With human rights assured from the beginning, we can assure the Olympic rings will never be stained again.