By Ronald Katz (January 22, 2018, 1:29 PM EST) -- The unchecked power of the International Olympic Committee was on full display last week when the IOC cleared close to 400 Russian athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. That power is so unchecked that the IOC even invited Russia's Olympic Committee — which the IOC had suspended from the Pyeongchang games for activity that the IOC president had described as an "unprecedented level of criminality" — to propose which athletes from this pool of almost 400 could use the competition slots that Russia had previously earned. Sports fans who just want to see world-class athletes competing fairly are the big losers in this highly politicized atmosphere. Until politics are kept out of Olympic sports, this unfortunate situation will continue....