A Swiss member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) apologized for comparing calls to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics to the Holocaust.
International Ski Federation President Gian Franco Kasper, during an IOC board meeting in Pyeongchang, South Korea, was discussing a proposed blanket ban on Russian athletes and reportedly said: "I'm just against bans or sanctioning of innocent people. Like Mr. Hitler did: All Jews were to be killed, independently of what they did or did not do."
"I apologize unreservedly for any offence I have caused. I am truly sorry," the 73-year-old Kasper said after being criticized for his remarks.
Initially, he had defended his remarks, telling reporters: "Why not? Of course it's more extreme. But just the fact that the place you come from makes you guilty, I'm not OK for this, really not."
A report in December 2016 claimed Russian medallists from summer and winter Olympics had benefited from a state-sponsored doping program between 2011 and 2015.
