By: Emily Huehn
Why the U.S. Should Not Boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics
For over a century, the nations of the world have come together every two years to celebrate one of the few things they all have in common — their love for sports. The Winter and Summer Olympics are two of the most viewed sporting events in the world. However, sporting events have become incredibly political in the past few years, and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing is no exception. Many civil rights activists are calling for a boycott of the games due to China’s history of human rights abuse, including their recent crimes against Uighur Muslims. They believe that China does not deserve to host the games as the nation will use them to boost their status in the international community. Inevitably, the question of where to draw the line between a sporting event and a political situation arises. Sport and politics should be separate and not intertwined. The U.S. should also consider what purpose a boycott would serve. The current idea of the boycott is to draw attention to human rights concerns in China that have nothing to do with sports — which are what the Olympics are about. As a nation, the United States should not boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics because the games are intended to be athletic, not political.
For most athletes, the Olympics are the endgame. They train their whole lives to attend the games for sixteen days of glory. Of course, some athletes can participate in multiple games, but even then, the window of opportunity is short. If the U.S. boycotted the 2022 games, many athletes would miss their only chance to compete in the Olympics, which is unfair and disappointing to both the athletes unable to attend and the people of the countries they represent. It must be considered what is in the best interest for the athletes, not political leaders. Additionally, the host country is only a vessel for the games, not the games themselves. As the International Olympic Committee said “The games are not the Chinese games, they are the International Olympic Committee games.” As a society, we must look past the games’ location and recognize that the Olympics bring the nations of the world together.
The proposed boycott would draw global attention towards the ethical and human rights concerns in China. In the past couple months, there have been reports of internment camps used to integrate Uighur Muslims into Chinese culture with methods that have amounted to genocide, such as sterilization and physical and mental abuse. However, one must ask whether this is the proper time for a boycott. Boycotts can result in tensions between nations, which can affect their relations for years to come. One example of this phenomenon occurred when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Several other countries had followed the U.S.’ boycott—this meant the number of athletes at the Olympics in 1980 was drastically smaller than at the previous 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The Soviets likewise boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles games. Both boycotts resolved none of the political issues of the time but instead negatively impacted the athletes’ experiences. The boycotts ended up being used as Cold War propaganda, but in reality, the only people who lost anything were the athletes, unable to participate in full capacity. Based on what happened during these previous boycotts, it is clear that a boycott of the Beijing Olympics would be equally ineffective.
All in all, the only thing a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics would do is deny the athletes a true Olympic experience. The Olympics is special because it makes the international community more connected. Barring some Olympians from that experience is, simply put, unfair. Why should certain athletes not be allowed to attend due to the political agendas of another country? Politics should be dealt with outside of the Olympics, as sports and politics are simply not related.
The logo for the Beijing 2022 Olympics
China’s bid for the 2022 Olympics was highly controversial
