The United States won’t offer a serious boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, but guess who can? Every single one of us.
The U.S. will diplomatically boycott the games, which means state officials such as President Joe Biden won’t be there, as if that makes any difference. There will be U.S. athletes competing, and China has an opportunity to shine on the global stage. That doesn’t mean we have to watch the games. Citizens of the world have a great opportunity to make China an international embarrassment once again. We should take that opportunity.
Why? China is engaged in genocide against the Uyghur people. The country has more than 1 million people in concentration camps, uses them as slaves, and is actively trying to reduce the Uyghur population with forced abortions, sterilization, and birth control.
This is the same China that shows unwarranted aggression toward its neighbor Taiwan and refuses to recognize its existence as an independent country. It’s also the country that mistreats the people of Tibet and Hong Kong — let alone the rest of the world.
Intellectual property theft, counterfeit goods, dumping, and sweatshops are examples of how China harms American industry. Human rights abuses that cause people to flee the country result in illegal immigration, and an abysmal response to the coronavirus pandemic also shows how China hurts the public directly.
Boycotting the games wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice anyway. Most of the sports that are the most popular in the U.S., such as baseball, basketball, and soccer, are in the Summer Olympics (American football isn’t an Olympic sport). So, while hockey is popular in many parts of the U.S. and Canada, we will have far better hockey to watch during that time; it’s called the NHL. Due to coronavirus concerns and the need to make up postponed games, no active NHL players will compete in the Olympic games. Olympians can have fun with third-rate talent while North America watches the best players in the world at home.
It may be hosting the Winter Olympics, but China is an adversary of the U.S.; it’s not a friend to play sports against. When a country tries to undermine the U.S. and oppresses its people, we shouldn’t indulge it. There are plenty of other sports on television; watch those instead.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts. He is also a freelance writer who has been published in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other outlets.
