Enough of this farce. Just give the Russians their flag back. And then let’s start talking about the real issue:

The International Olympic Committee’s plan for showing the Russians who’s the boss has — most likely on purpose — lacked teeth from the start.

What the organization needs is a tangible plan that could once and for all take antidoping responsibilities away from nations like Russia — but not only Russia — that in so many cases have shown a predisposition toward looking the other way on doping, especially when it comes to their own athletes. It needs to create an independent worldwide antidoping task force, with enough financing behind it to make it work.

The I.O.C. will have to demand that all national Olympic committees and sports federations pitch in, but it needs to reach deeper into its own pockets, too. NBC Universal has committed nearly $8 billion for the media rights for the Games from 2021 through 2032. That’s a lot of money for the I.O.C. to throw around, and right now seems like the right time to throw a lot more of it at antidoping.

Ahead of these Winter Games, the I.O.C. talked a big talk to clean up Olympic sports, yet allowed Russia to send one of the largest contingents to these Games, and then approved a “neutral” uniform with the word “Russia” on it.

So what’s the sense in letting the I.O.C. pretend to be a hard-liner on doping now that the Games are almost done by keeping the Russian flag out of the closing ceremony? The fact that it’s even considering reinstatement, or the laughable partial reinstatement options, shows it still isn’t serious about punishing nations that cheat to win.