Why I’m watching the Winter Games
I love winter sports – yes, even curling – but I’ve agonized for months over whether to tune in to these Olympics.
The fascist regime in China certainly has no business hosting the Games while perpetrating a genocide against the Uyghurs, repressing Hong Kong and Tibet, threatening Taiwan, disappearing Peng Shuai and subjugating even the ethnic majority in ways George Orwell couldn’t have imagined.
The International Olympic Committee, which sees no evil in any host country, is plagued by scandals related to corruption, cheating, doping and sexual abuse. NBC, which paid billions of dollars for exclusive broadcast rights, is profiting from the exploitation while keeping human rights abuses on the periphery of its coverage.
President Joe Biden was right to order a diplomatic boycott, and some of my colleagues have argued thoughtfully against tuning in. But my decision to watch the competition starts with an affirmative answer to this question: If the 1936 Olympics in Berlin had been televised, would I have regretted not seeing Jesse Owens, a Black American, win four gold medals in track and field? Owens’s victories over German runners humiliated Adolf Hitler in a stadium he built for the occasion.
Another reason: Our team’s mere presence is a blow against the Chinese Communist Party’s worldview. American
speed skater Brittany Bowe was the only openly gay athlete to carry her country’s flag during Friday’s Opening Ceremonies. China selecting a lesbian flag-bearer is inconceivable. Their government recently prohibited depictions of “sissy idols” on television and banned depictions of “gay love” and “effeminate men” in video games. Authorities shut down popular LGBT social media accounts, including those run by nongovernmental organizations and university students, as part of the crackdown on gay content.
The United States has won more medals than any country but Norway over the course of 23 Winter Olympics; we were not always hard to beat at winter sports, but we worked our way up the podium over many years to be competitive in nearly every event. Several members of our racially diverse delegation are now favored to win gold in a nation where they would not otherwise enjoy a warm, made-for-television welcome.
And their visas come with strings attached. China has threatened to arrest anyone who speaks out. America’s athletes have been encouraged to self-censor for their own safety. Because most spectators are banned, members of Team USA will be competing without their families in the stands to cheer them on. So I’ll be doing it from afar.
I admit that, as a Minnesotan, I’m hopelessly biased about cold-weather sports. My home state sent more athletes to Beijing than any state but California and Colorado. Thirty members of Team
USA have Minnesota connections, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, including nine gold medalists from 2018.
Most aren’t household names. The Peterson sisters, who grew up down the road from me, will compete in curling: Tara, 30, is a dentist. Tabitha, 32, is a pharmacist. They’ve trained hard for this chance, and it will be a highlight of their lives. I’m as excited for them as the marquee names like figure skater Nathan Chen and Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin. Why should we ignore the Peterson sisters because of China’s villainy?
Finally, America feels dangerously divided. We need something to remind us, if only briefly, that we’re on the same team. Cheering on our athletes in the red, white and blue feels like a start.
Past Olympics haven’t always accomplished this. When Jesse Owens returned home, he was treated like a second-class citizen. Franklin D. Roosevelt declined to invite the 18 African Americans who competed in Berlin to the White House. Eighty years later, Barack Obama sought to make amends by inviting their families to join his celebration for the Olympians who competed at Rio in 2016. By whooping the Nazis, Obama said, the Black athletes taught them a thing or two about democracy and the American character.
I hope next month, when Biden invites the team to the White House, the athletes get a chance to say everything they couldn’t say in Beijing. NBC should air that event live.