After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, President Jimmy Carter threatened a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. Carter hoped the threat would force Soviet troops back over the Afghan border.

Instead, the moment underscored his administration’s listless, limping foreign policy: The Soviets stayed in Afghanistan for nine more years, the United States government was humiliated, and 466 Team USA athletes missed the chance to compete. That moment sprang to my mind recently as some in the GOP call for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. A word of caution: As Carter amply demonstrated, Olympic boycotts don’t work, and what’s more, they risk our country’s reputation and ruin the dreams of young competitors.