Apr 16 2008
Summer Olympics
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Summer Olympics in Beijing. If you’ve been paying attention at all, you know there has been a lot of press, mostly negative, about China’s record on human rights, especially in connection with Darfur, and the annexation of Tibet.
Many groups are calling for a boycott of the Games this year. Some are suggesting that Heads of State decline to attend the Opening Ceremonies as a way to send a message to China.
I have the pleasure of working with a number of athletes who have been training for years for their shot at the Olympics and I believe we would do every Olympian a disservice if we boycott the Games. Ideally the Olympics is about sport and competition and fair-play and should be outside the realm of politics. In reality, politics has played a role in every Olympics. I think that all of the attention being focused on China will have a positive effect on the behavior of the Chinese government.