CHINA WARNS U.S. NOT TO BOYCOTT THE WINTER GAMES

China’s government warned Washington on Wednesday not to boycott next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing after the Biden administration said it was talking with allies about a joint approach to complaints of human rights abuses.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected accusations of abuses against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region. He warned of an unspecified “robust Chinese response” to a potential Olympics boycott.

“The politicization of sports will damage the spirit of the Olympic Charter and the interests of athletes from all countries,” said the spokesperson, Zhao Lijian. “The international community including the U.S. Olympic Committee will not accept it.”

Human rights groups are protesting China’s hosting of the games, due to start in February 2022. They have urged a boycott or other measures to call attention to accusations of Chinese abuses against Uyghurs, Tibetans and residents of Hong Kong.

The U.S. State Department suggested an Olympic boycott was among the possibilities but a senior official said later a boycott has not been discussed. The International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee have said in the past they oppose boycotts.

More Olympics

Japan’s Osaka prefecture issued a special warning that a rapid surge in coronavirus cases is placing medical systems in the region at the verge of collapse and requested the cancellation of the Olympic torch relay along all public roads in the prefecture.

• Russian Olympic track champions Andrei Silnov (high jump, 2008) and Natalya Antyukh (400 hurdles, 2012) have each been banned for four years for doping offenses, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said.

NFL

Nike has suspended its endorsement contract with Deshaun Watson amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment against the Houston Texans quarterback.

“We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and have suspended Deshaun Watson,” Nike said in a statement. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

Watson has been accused of sexual assault or harassment in lawsuits filed by 22 women.

• The Bills agreed to sign guard Forrest Lamp to a one-year contract. Lamp spent the past four seasons with the Chargers.

Soccer

Kylian Mbappe scored twice to lead visiting Paris Saint-Germain to a 3-2 win at defending champion Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.

Mbappe was a constant threat while Neymar had two assists as the French champion responded to its 1-0 loss to Bayern in last year’s final by seizing the advantage going into the second leg in Paris next week.

• Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell scored a goal in each half as visiting Chelsea defeated Porto 2-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

• The National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association

SCOREBOARD

have begun negotiations on the league’s first collective bargaining agreement.

Local colleges

The Aztec track and field team won the Mountain West Challenge. SDSU finished with 179 points to win the four-team field that also included Oregon State (131), UNLV (123) and Nevada (112).

The Aztecs took first place in nine events and saw numerous athletes post career-best marks including Kaitlin Heri, who cleared 14 feet in the pole vault to become just the fifth Aztec to do so.

• The SDSU women’s golf team carded a 7-over-par 295 in the final round of the Silverado Showdown in Napa and finished last in the 13-team event. No. 13 USC posted a tournament-low 7under 281 to claim the team title at 2-under 862. No. 31

UCLA slipped back to second at +3.

Also

Alice Headley Chandler, who founded Mill Ridge Farm and built a Hall of Fame career as a breeder of champion racing thoroughbreds, has died. She was 95.

• Josh Mahura scored two second-period goals for the Gulls, but that was all the offense San Diego (16-110-0) could muster in a 4-2 loss to Ontario (9-14-3-0) that snapped its sevengame winning streak.

• Second-seeded Taylor Fritz of San Diego beat Andrej Martin 6-2, 7-6 (4) to reach the quarterfinals of the Sardegna Open in Cagliari, Sardinia.

• Former Florida State star football player Travis Rudolph was arrested for a shooting that left one man dead and another wounded.

— Named Dannton Jackson men’s basketball assistant coach, Dan Madhavapallil director of basketball operations and K.J. Bapiste, Jr. director of recruiting and video.

— Agreed to terms with men’s head basketball coach Mark Turgeon on a contract extension through the 2025-26 season.