DENVER (AP) — A boycott of next year's Beijing Olympics will not solve any geopolitical issues with China and will only serve to place athletes training for the games under a “cloud of uncertainty,” the head of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee wrote to Congress on Thursday.
CEO Sarah Hirshland sent the two-page letter that put a more official imprint on the long-held USOPC stance that Olympic boycotts harm athletes and do little to impact problems in host countries.
Her letter specifically addressed those who believe a boycott of the Winter Games next February would serve as an effective diplomatic tool to protest China's alleged abuses toward Uyghurs, Tibetans and Hong Kong residents.
She said that while the USOPC is also troubled by actions in China that “undermine the core values of the Olympic movement ... an athlete boycott of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is not the solution to geopolitical issues.”
Hirshland offered a
“To make matters worse, their sacrifice had arguably no diplomatic benefit,” Hirshland said. “The Soviet Union stayed in Afghanistan for another decade. ... Both the 1980 and 1984 Games tainted Olympic history and showed the error of using the Olympic Games as a political tool.”
, along with some members of Congress, have been pushing for a boycott, or to
The choice of whether to boycott would ultimately be up to the USOPC, but political pressure could weigh heavily, especially with Congress
In her letter, Hirshland argued that the Olympics can be used to raise awareness of human rights issues. But she did not highlight the 1968 Olympics, which were punctuated by protests by sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the likes of which the USOPC
“The Olympic and Paralympic community shone a light on inequality in practice, and the Sochi Games became a turning point in the effort to highlight the contributions and inclusion of LGBTQ+ athletes in global sport," she wrote.
She said the new generation of Winter Olympians were working hard to represent the U.S. next year in Beijing.
“Please give them that chance," she said. "They do not deserve to train for the games under a cloud of uncertainty about American participation in the games.”
