Olympic Committee updates list of banned countries, but Russia is still banned

This just in, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has removed Belarus from its list of banned countries in competition.

From the IOC:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions governed by International Federations (IFs) and international sports event organisers. The IOC EB today lifted the recommended conditions of participation for International Federations and international sports event organisers of 28 February 2022 and 28 March 2023 as they relate to Belarus and Belarusian athletes, including the protective measures.

There are currently just a few Belarusian players in the NHL, most notably Yegor Sharangovich and Alexei Protas. The country hasn't qualified for the Olympics in ice hockey since 2010.

Of course, the big news here is that the IOC has neglected to remove its sanctions against Russia. The hockey giant has been banned from competition since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Thoughts, hockey fans?

Without getting too political, I can't see how the players on a hockey team have anything to do with international geopolitics. I mean, most hockey countries are pretty diverse politically and I can't imagine that all of Russia's players are in support of their government's actions. Seems petty to me to punish players who have no control over the actions of their political leaders.

I mean... is Team USA in any different of a position?