August 7, 2008 EDITION

The Summer Olympics: Athletic Competition or Political Spectacle? China denies U.S. speedskater admission to country because of political views The other day I was in a restaurant when I overheard a conversation at the next table (Yes, I eavesdrop. We in the newspaper business are inherently nosy that way). I heard a woman say to her companion, “I hope no one does anything to turn the Olympics into a political spectacle.” Olympic speedskater Joey Cheek is good enough for Wheaties but too political for China. I kept my mouth shut and ate my sandwich, but secretly I wanted to slide over to their table and say, “Pardon me, madam. I couldn’t help but hear your desire for a politics-free Olympics. Sadly, I must inform you that there has never been such a thing, nor will one magically appear in the polluted skies of Beijing.” Or something like that. We can wish for an Olympics that is solely about the games, but anytime you put athletes in uniforms that mirror their countries’ flags, you’re going to have some kind of international brouhaha. When I was a kid, I loved the Olympics. But even then you had incidents ranging from Tommie Smith and John Carlos giving the Black Power salute from the podium in Mexico City in 1968 to the horrible massacre of the Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972. In 1980 the United States and several other countries boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 28 years later most of those countries are more sympathetic with the Soviets’ claim that there was some trouble in Afghanistan that needed military attention. Even the way countries and cities vie for the Olympic games is fraught with politics. After the International Olympic Committee announced that the 2002 Winter Olympics would be held in Salt Lake City, a scandal emerged where IOC members apparently took bribes from the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Some of the IOC members seemed genuinely shocked that anyone would oppose their way of doing business. So no one should be surprised if having the Summer Olympics in China, a Comminist/Capitalist country with over 1.2 billion people, comes with a little political baggage. Prior to the Olympics, protestors in the United States and Europe disrupted the travels of the Olympic torch, forcing it to be extinguished on a number of occasions. I have to say, that if it was me jogging down the road with what is basically a club with fire coming out of the end, you really wouldn’t want to try to tackle me. I realize clubbing a protestor with the Olympic torch is not really in the spirit of the games, but sometimes instincts take over… Most of the protests had to do with China’s suppression of Tibet and the exile of that country’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. But a few of the protests against China’s hosting the Olympic games were because of that country’s support of the oppressive government forces in the war-torn section of Sudan. This week China revoked Olympic U.S. speedskater Joey Cheek’s visa because of his involvement in the issue. As president and co-founder of the collection of Olympic athletes known as Team Darfur, Cheek was planning to go to China to support his fellow teammates. “I didn’t see it coming,” said Cheek of China’s revocation of his visa. “I figured that once they gave me a visa, I wouldn’t imagine they wouldn’t allow me to come in later. That was a big shock. I wasn’t expecting to get a call the evening before I was to leave for Beijing.” Cheek was hoping to use his trip to the Olympics as a way of urging the international community to persuade Sudan to observe the ancient tradition of the “Olympic truce” during the games. Since ethnic tribesmen took up arms in 2003, more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. China gets much of its oil supply from the African country and many of the weapons used in the genocide have come from China. For its part, the International Olympic Committee has been silent on China’s treatment of athletes that want to speak out. “I’ve been pretty unimpressed with the IOC’s efforts in protecting athletes, for giving them any options,” said Cheek. “I don’t begrudge (China) the Olympics. I think they’ll do well with them. But there are so many of their government’s policies that I find repulsive, especially for athletes who have no intention but to help someone else.” For the next two weeks, I’ll do my best to enjoy the athletic contests and human interest features of the Olympics. But I won’t be surprised if the larger story is political in nature. Sweet Tea with Lemon Archives: 2008 0619 0612 0529 0515 0508 0501 0327 0313 0207 0117 0110 0103 2007 1213 1129 1122 1115 1101 1025 1018 1004 0927 0920 0906 0823 0816 0802 0726 0719 0712 0705 0621 0607 0531 0524 0517 0510 0426 0419 0412 0329 0322 0315 0308 0301 0215 0208 0201 0125 0111 0104 2006 1228 1221 1207 1130 1123 1116 1109 1102 1026 1019 1005 0928 0921 0914 0907 0824 0810 0803 0727 0720 0713 0706 0629 0622 0615 0608 0525 0518 0511 0504 0427 0420 0413 0406 0330 0316 0309 0302 0223 0216 0209 0202 0126 0112 0105 2005 1229 1222 1215 1201 1124 1117 1110 1103 1027 1013 0929 0922 0825 0811 0714 0630 0623 0616 0609 0519 0512 0421 0414 0331 0324 0317

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