Hayley Wickenheiser says insistence that Olympics go ahead 'insensitive and irresponsible'
Hayley Wickenheiser, the greatest female hockey player in history and a member of the International Olympic Committee, calls Japan's insistence that the Summer Olympics go ahead as planned "insensitive and irresponsible."
"This crisis is bigger than even the Olympics," said Wickenheiser.
"We don't know what's happening in the next 24 hours, let alone the next three months."
On Tuesday, Japan's Olympic minister said the nation is still planning for a "complete" staging of the Games, despite the coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also claimed the Games would still go ahead.
Writing on Twitter, Wickenheiser added: "From an athlete perspective, I can only imagine and try to empathize with the anxiety and heartbreak athletes are feeling right now.
"Athletes can't train, attendees can't travel plan. Sponsors and marketers can't market with any degree of sensitivity.
"I think the IOC insisting this will move ahead, with such conviction, is insensitive and irresponsible given the state of humanity."
Wickenheiser was part of Team Canada that won four successive ice hockey golds at the Winter Olympics.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 26, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Smith | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mark Stone | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nic Dowd | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Shea Theodore | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Mackenzie Blackwood | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Ross Colton | - | - | - | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Jack Eichel | - | - | - | |
| Noah Hanifin | - | - | - | |
| Carter Hart | - | - | - | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||