Lamenting the constant erosion of innocence in sport

The Russians are back in the Pyeongchang Winter Games.

And Larry Nassar, the disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor jailed for life after committing sex crimes against young female gymnasts, has been back in court facing yet more accusations.

And the United States is ramping up its desire to play the world's policeman, judge, jury and banker against the Federation Internationale de Football Association (Fifa), the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Oh my God.

What do we tell the children? How does anyone justify the belief that sport is good for the body and soul?

If this is not Armageddon, the biblical or the asteroid version, nothing ever will be.

Where to begin?

The United States is ramping up its desire to play the world's policeman, judge, jury and banker against the Federation Internationale de Football Association (Fifa), the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

On Feb 9, at the opening ceremony in South Korea, competitors, officials and coaches will swear oaths reaffirming the spirit of Olympism. The chosen athlete will affirm that all competitors will respect the rules, "committing ourselves... without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams".

Following Thursday's Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in Switzerland to overturn life bans on 28 Russians, the number of Russian competitors might swell towards 200.

The CAS decided there was "insufficient evidence" against them, which contradicts testimony provided by Grigory Rodchenkov. He is the former director of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, but sought asylum and protection in the US in exchange for blowing the whistle on the system he devised in Russia.

Jim Walden, Rodchenkov's attorney in America, called the CAS judgment "a complete get out of jail free card" for the 28 athletes. Walden added: "The CAS decision only emboldens cheaters, makes it harder for clean athletes to win and provides yet another ill-gotten gain for the corrupt Russian doping system generally, and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin specifically."

America's take versus Russia's. The conduct of the US might not be exemplary, given that Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin were caught for doping violations.

Salt Lake City bribed IOC members for votes to stage the 2002 Winter Olympics, but that event scored where it mattered, with corporate America ensuring a hugely profitable Games.

More recently, some companies were implicated in paying bribes that led the US Justice Department to bring down Fifa insiders for corrupting bidding processes over decades.

But two World Cups - Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 - remain scheduled. The US, in partnership with Mexico and Canada, expects to host the 2026 event. Morocco is the other bidder, but it has an immense task to prove that it can deliver on Fifa president Gianni Infantino's expanded World Cup Finals of 48 nations.

Who knows if the US would even qualify for that one. And will the trials be over by then? A subpoena leaked to The New York Times this week shows that the Justice Department is going deeper into racketeering, money laundering and fraud in Fifa, the IOC, the US Olympic Committee and is looking into big business and the lobbyists trying to buy global event hosting rights.

All of the above makes one weep for the innocence of sport, but much of it pales against the horror of the trial of serial sex abuser Nassar in Michigan.

We might have thought that Judge Rosemarie Aquilina had the last word when she sentenced the doctor. She ruled that he had abused not just the seven witnesses who appeared in court, but 161 other girls who came to him over the 20 years in which he treated aspiring gymnasts.

The judge told him: "I wouldn't send my dogs to you, sir." Sentencing him to 175 years, Aquilini said it was her honour and privilege to say: "I've just signed your death warrant."

Small, bespectacled, insignificant-looking, Nassar showed barely any emotion, although there was some media debate about the judge lacking impartiality.

Then, seven days after Aquilina's summary, another trial in another part of Michigan began this week. In court, Jessica Thomashow, nine years old when Nassar allegedly mistreated her and 17 today, told the court: "I wanted to puke. I could feel his hands touching me."

Another 65 witnesses lined up for this latest trial against Nassar. Gymnastics and university officials have resigned and police and FBI officers face recrimination for not acting sooner. While Nassar is expected to receive an additional sentence, no amount of money can compensate the girls.

Sport is the loser too, in every case.