More than 160 human rights groups have sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee calling on it to pull the 2022 Winter Olympics from China. While it’s clear the IOC doesn’t have the moral courage to take a stand, the United States should lead the way and boycott the Beijing Games.
The IOC awarded China the games after running Norway out of contention with a list of ridiculous demands, wanting IOC members to be treated like royalty. That the organization is unwilling to move the games out of some notion of “neutrality” is a cop-out, but it shouldn’t be surprising that IOC members don’t want to risk a cancellation. IOC President Thomas Bach was one of the athletes who missed out on competing in the Olympics when Western Germany joined the boycott of the 1980 Games in the Soviet Union.
The popular contention is that the 1980 boycotts didn’t work because the USSR didn’t withdraw troops from Afghanistan and then led its own boycott against the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. But the 1980 boycott deprived the Soviet Union of a major propaganda opportunity, as the Moscow Olympics saw the fewest participating countries in any games since 1956.
The 1936 Olympics in Berlin were the clearest example of how the games can be used for propaganda. Adolf Hitler was able to fight off opposition with the grandeur displayed at the “Nazi Games.” While American Olympic Committee President Avery Brundage opposed an American boycott, Germans felt Hitler was leading the country in the wrong direction. But as historians note, “by going to the Olympics we gave him the opportunity to appear sane, rational and tolerant.”
Perhaps the IOC could have learned from the last time it gave the Olympics to the Chinese Communist Party. China’s occupation of Tibet led to prominent global leaders to boycott the opening ceremonies, and the country was still arresting protesters and would-be protesters as the games were happening.
If the IOC wants to make royal demands of countries hosting the Olympics, it shouldn’t be surprised when free countries scoff at them. And if it wants to give the games to totalitarian countries, don’t be surprised when human rights concerns lead free countries to discuss boycotts. If the IOC insists that “neutrality” means the games can be hosted even in a country with active concentration camps because of “neutrality,” then America should lead the way by staying home in 2022.
