PORTLAND, Ore. — As Olympians begin to arrive in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, local Olympics expert Jules Boykoff called the Games a massive political thicket about a lot more than sports. Boykoff, a political science professor at Pacific University, has written four books about the Olympic Games. He was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk.
He said there's never been an Olympics quite like the Beijing Games.
"We are talking about staging an optional sporting spectacle under coronavirus pandemic conditions in a country that is a serial human rights abuser that has long acted in ways that clash with the principles that are enshrined in the Olympic charter," Boykoff said.
China's zero-COVID policy
China has implemented extreme measures as part of its "zero tolerance" COVID policy. Athletes will be tested every day for COVID-19 and must remain inside the Beijing bubble to prevent spread to the local population. Boykoff said it will be much stricter than what athletes saw in Tokyo but he said China's policy has been highly effective.
"For comparison's sake, there have been 6,000 coronavirus deaths in China since the pandemic started," Boykoff said. "I mean, we had almost 4,000 (in the U.S.) on Wednesday of this week. It's working. But some people think it's Draconian."
Boykoff said human rights activists fear the closed-loop system and the pandemic have become a convenient alibi for China to ratchet up social control in ways that look responsible epidemiologically, but muzzle dissent.
"In short, COVID could be a pretext of sorts for suppressing critical journalism out of these Beijing Games and also political dissent from athletes and others," he said.
Human rights violations
No U.S. diplomatic officials will be attending the Games in Beijing. In December, President Joe Biden announced a diplomatic boycott in response to human rights violations in China. Boykoff said according to groups like Human Rights Watch, crimes against humanity are playing out during the Olympics.
"Whether it's in Xinjiang Province, where Uyghur Muslims and Turkish Muslims are being oppressed, whether it's the ongoing suppression of Tibetans, or whether it's what's happening in Hong Kong for democracy activists having their dissent squelched," Boykoff said.
A small number of countries, including Canada, Great Britain, Australia and recently Denmark joined the U.S. diplomatic boycott.
Boykoff said while the boycott may not have a huge impact, part of its purpose is to try to prevent something called "sports-washing."
"(That's) using sports mega-events like the Olympics to launder one's international reputation if you have human rights problems," he said. "By not sending diplomats, that prevents photo ops that lend a certain amount of legitimacy to the government there."
Boykoff said it's notable how few countries have stood with the U.S. in calling for a diplomatic boycott.
"I think that's because China has become such a powerful geostrategic force in the world right now and you just don't cross them without the possibility of them crossing you back," he said.
IOC responsibility
While the Biden administration and other countries have stood up to China with a diplomatic boycott, Boykoff said one group that isn't feeling the heat is the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He blames the IOC for awarding the 2022 Games to China in the first place.
"If they take their own charter seriously, they've got ideas around preserving human dignity," he said. "They mention human rights in the charter. ... If you live by your own charter, yes, you definitely should not be giving the Olympics to a country that is abusing human rights in the way that's happening in China, as we speak."
Athlete activism
During the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021, the IOC slightly relaxed a rule which prohibited "political, religious, or racial propaganda," which allows athletes more freedom to express their views. Boykoff called the era of athlete activism exciting.
"We have more socially conscious athletes out there that are willing to and eager to speak out about political issues that matter to them, and I view that as a healthy development in society," he said. "The more we are talking about key issues the better."
However, don't expect to see that at the Games in Beijing. National Olympic Committees and human rights activists are urging athletes not to criticize China because they could be prosecuted under Chinese law.
"One international athlete group, Global Athlete, has advised athletes to just wait until they get home to speak out about politics," Boykoff said. "So, we will see the muzzling of potential dissent as we move into Beijing."
Notable events to watch
Politics aside, there are many exciting events Boykoff said he'll be watching during the 2022 Games, including three-time snowboard gold medalist Shaun White competing in his fifth Olympic Games at age 35. White has said this will be the final time he competes in the Games.
He'll also be watching snowboarder Chloe Kim go for her second gold medal in the half-pipe after catapulting to stardom in 2018 in Pyeongchang as the youngest woman ever to win gold in snowboarding.
An event that has really captured his interest is speed skating with Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson. After she qualified to go to Beijing, Bowe gave up her spot to Jackson, the world's top-ranked speed skater, who slipped during the qualifying event and finished third, one spot short of qualification.
"This is the true Olympic spirit," Boykoff said. "But it kind of came around in terms of karma and a spot came up in the field, and Brittany Bowe got one of those spots, so, she too, gets to participate."
In Alpine skiing, Boykoff said viewers will want to watch Mikaela Shiffrin compete in her third Olympics. She won gold in Sochi in 2014 and gold and silver in Pyeongchang and is now trying to compete in five alpine skiing events in Beijing.
"That's kind of unheard of. She's one to keep an eye on," Boykoff said.
Portland Paralympian going for third gold medal
After the 2022 Olympic Games wrap up in Beijing, the Paralympics kick off on March 4.
Portland native, Rico Roman, is hoping he and his sled hockey team can bring home their third gold medal. Roman was also a guest this week on “Straight Talk.”
Roman is a retired Army staff sergeant and a Purple Heart recipient. He served three tours of duty in Iraq and lost his leg in 2007 when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. After two years of rehabilitation, a group called Operation Comfort approached him about joining the sled hockey team.
"I was instantly hooked," Roman said. "I think the thing that kept me with the team the most was the locker room. It really gave me the bond and sense of teamwork back (that he lost when he left the military after his injury)."
He didn't make the U.S. Paralympic sled hockey team on his first attempt, but he said it really lit a fire that inspired him to keep trying.
"I put in the work on the ice and lifting weights and made the team the next year, and I've been pretty much been at it the last 12 and a half years playing at the national level," Roman said.
He and his sled hockey teammates won gold in Sochi, Russia in 2014 and again in 2018 in Pyeongchang. He said the best part of winning the first gold medal was seeing his kids in the stands.
"I get goose bumps just thinking about it," he said. "My kids had been there with me through the whole ordeal of being injured overseas, rehabbing. So they got to see me progress in hockey, and to win the gold and to look up in the stands and see their smiles and knowing they were with me in the moment, I think that was one of the best feelings you could ever feel."
Message for others with disabilities
Roman also coaches youth interested in sled hockey and has this message for others who have a disability.
"Try it all," he said. "I didn't know I'd be here 12 years later with two gold medals in sled hockey but it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't tried out. Doors open for a reason and you have to walk through them to find out what's on the other side."
The Paralympics in Beijing, China run from March 4 through March 14.
Straight Talk airs Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on KGW-TV. Straight Talk is also available as a podcast.
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