An athlete sits on the sidelines,
Retired from the game they love,
That they could have dominated.

It is not because of talent,
The lack thereof would explain things;
Nor is that due to injury,
For it is recoverable.

Rather, the athlete is removed
Because of one thing: politics,
People of authority roles
Being totalitarians
In deciding just who belongs,
And who suffers for a lifetime.

Make no mistake: an exclusion
Is a wound that is permanent;
The athlete is not only scarred,
But the record books are clouded
With all sorts of what-could-have-beens,
And titles having asterisks.

To think that discrimination
Like this would have been avoided
Makes this travesty all the more
A black mark to sports history,
And to that of the athlete’s ilk.