The president of the American Latvian Association is urging supporters to join the organization in protesting the failure of the U.S. television network NBC to fully show the Latvian team during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

In a Feb. 19 e-mail to ALA members and supporters, Juris Mežinskis said protest letters to the network also should point out what he called NBC’s ignorance of Latvia’s history.

Mežinskis, in a letter to NBC Chairman Dick Ebersol, said it was “mildly irritating” when the network in its live telecast of the Feb. 12 opening ceremony cut away to a commercial before the Latvian team was due to enter Olympic Stadium in Vancouver. Shots of the teams from Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Lebanon were briefly shown when the network returned to live coverage.

But the ALA president used stronger language to criticize the network’s color commentary during the Feb. 16 men’s ice hockey match between Latvia and Russia.

“During the Russia-Latvia hockey game, it was more disturbing to have the commentator try to put Latvia in perspective by describing it as a ‘former Soviet republic,’” Mežinskis wrote. He added that according to the U.S. government, Latvia was an occupied country during World War II and the Americans never recognized its incorporation into the Soviet Union.

“Describing Latvia as a former Soviet republic carries a certain message of civility and legality which is misleading the TV audience,” Mežinskis wrote. “Latvia will have several more hockey games and other competitions where your ‘color commentators’ can either describe Latvia from the occupier’s point of view or that of the Latvian people.”

NBC officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

This was not the first time the Latvian team has not been shown during the live NBC broadcast of an Olympics opening ceremony. However, during the Salt Lake City games in 2002, Latvian fans and NBC affiliate KSL-TV convinced network officials to show the team live.

NBC has exclusive broadcast rights for the Winter Olympics in the U.S. In other countries, including Canada, the Latvian team was shown entering Olympic Stadium without commercial interruption.

Skeletonist Martins Dukurs, who four years ago finished seventh in the event, has won a silver medal for Latvia during the Feb. 19 men’s competition in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada.

Dukurs, the last to run the fourth heat in the zig-zag course at the Whistler Sliding Centre, recorded a total time of 3 minutes, 29.80 seconds, according to results posted on the official Web site of the Winter Olympics, www.vancouver2010.com. He was just .07 seconds behind the hometown favorite, Canada’s Jon Montgomery, who won the gold with a total time of 3:29.73.

Montgomery, who trailed Dukurs in overall time through the first three heats, was aided in part by breaking the track record of 52.32 that Dukurs had set in the first heat Feb. 18. Montgomery finished the third heat in 52.20.

The bronze medal in the men’s skeleton event went to Russia’s Alexander Tretyakov, who had a total time of 3:30.75.

Martins Dukurs’ brother Tomass finished fourth overall with a time of 3:31.13.

A total of 28 athletes competed in the event.

Martins Dukurs’ silver is Latvia’s second in the Olympics. Brothers Andris and Juris Šics earned a silver in the men’s double luge event on Feb. 17.

Brothers Andris and Juris Šics have won Latvia’s first medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics, earning silver in the men’s double luge event Feb. 17.

They recorded a total time of 1 minute, 22.969 seconds over two runs, just a bit more than a quarter of second slower than gold medalists Andreas and Wolfgang Linger of Austria, who finished with 1:22.705. The Lingers also are brothers.

The bronze medal went to Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch of Germany, according to results posted on the official Web site of the Winter Olympics, www.vancouver2010.com.

The Latvians ranked second after their first run in the event, which took place at the Whistler Sliding Centre in Canada’s province of British Columbia. Their time of 41.420 was .088 slower than that of the Austrians, who recorded a track record of 41.332.

The brothers Šics finished third in the second run with a time of 41.549, but held on to second place overall.

The 24-year-old Andris and the 26-year-old Juris are trained by Jānis Liepa. The Šics team finished seventh in the event during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

The Latvian double luge team of Oskars Gudramovičs and Pēteris Kalniņš was in 12th place after the first run.  Gudramovičs and Kalnīņš finished 13th in the second run, but held on to 12th place overall.

A total of 20 teams competed in the event.