Nodar Kumaritišvili Crash Video and Ethical Concerns

Nodar Kumaritišvili crash video and ethical concerns are still a hot topic in Olympic news. Nodar Kumaritišvili is the 21 year old Olympic hopeful that experienced a fatal crash on the Whistler track in Vancouver. He was trying to qualify for the luge event, and told friends and family that he would either "win or die" during his quest for Olympic gold.

And die he did. He died probably one of the worst deaths imaginable, although some would say his death was as close to "instant death" as one could get. The g-force from his speed was too much for his slender 180 pound frame to handle.

Olympic officials claim that the death was due to "human error", and that as a result of coming out of the previous turn late, Nodar Kumaritišvili didn't compensate and lost control of his sled during the final turn of the track.

Nodar Kumaritišvili was in sight of the finish line. He was almost there. His sled stopped just shy of the finish line, even though his body was catapulted over the side of the luge track and in to a metal pole.

Because the death was so sudden and tragic...and caught on video...many have wanted to see the video. If you are curious, you can see news coverage featuring the video here. However, there has been a lot of ethical dialog over the appropriateness of showing the video.

Nodar Kumaritišvili's father said he avoids watching news coverage of his son's death because he doesn't want to see the footage of his son's last moments of life. Many think that out of respect for the father and the rest of the family, the video should be pulled from the web.

YouTube pulled the video early on. Some speculated it was because it was gruesome, but later on it came out that there was some "copyright issues" with the coverage.

Despite what your personal beliefs are, it's hard to ignore the ethical complications that this situation causes. Do we "rubberneck" online at a gruesome video, or do we move on and pay our respects to the dead?

There is one curious thing: what would Nodar Kumaritišvili want? Would he want us to see how dangerous his sport is, so that we can understand and appreciate his fellow athletes, or would he want privacy for his family? This, of course, we will never know. In that event, we rely on the "freedom of the press" to showcase the video, and it's up to our own standards and belief systems if we choose to partake in the gruesome images or not.

Source:

CNM News Network

Mlive.com