What some say about Russia/Russians is more of an indicator about the former than the latter. A good deal of commentary is on record about the Olympics and Russia. For a fuller overview, some additional points can be added.
Bigotry has been definitely at play. From Juliet Macur's July 20
New York Times (NYT) article "First Medal of Rio Olympics Deserves to go to a Whistle Blower", is this contemptible excerpt: "The whistle-blowers are holding their breath. The Russians and clean athletes are, too." That kind of sentiment has been expressed elsewhere. Substitute "Russians" for some other group in such a negatively applied way and see the selective outrage. No
NYT journo would write a bigoted comparison that differentiates between law abiding citizens and African-Americans, followed by a utilization of crime statistics as "proof" for such a presented contrast.
Like her other NYT Olympic covering colleagues, Macur has been an uncritical cheerleader of their newspaper's exclusive feature of the Russian doctor, Grigory Rodchenkov, who has made a series of eye opening claims that (to date) haven't been firmly established. Likewise, The
NYT has given uncritical praise to the questionable
report by Canadian attorney Richard McLaren, at the behest of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). McLaren's report is largely based on Rodchenkov's claims. Rodchenkov hasn't been accessible for follow-up. Rather than seeking to cover-up the claim of a Russian state sponsored doping campaign in sports, the Russian government has openly sought a further questioning of Rodchenkov.
Comment: Every step fraught with danger: Refugee children face beatings, rape and forced labor along with risk of drowning