Editorial

REPORT: Olympic Athletes Have Been Told To Stay Silent On Human Rights Violations While Competing In China

OPINION
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 24: Chinese President Xi Jinping vote at the closing of the 19th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People on October 24, 2017 in Beijing, China. The 19th CPC National Congress is going to run 7 days and a new central committee of CPC will be produced. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Athletes competing in the Olympics in China have been warned about speaking up about human rights.

According to Reuters, athletes competing in the Olympic games being hosted by the communist dictatorship have been told to stay silent about the crimes of the CCP and the trampling of human rights. China has a horrific record on human rights, most notably against the Uyghurs. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

“There’s really not much protection that we believe is going to be afforded to athletes. Silence is complicity and that’s why we have concerns. So we’re advising athletes not to speak up. We want them to compete and use their voice when they get home,” director general of the Global Athlete group Rob Koehler told athletes in a seminar, according to the same report.

The obvious question that has to be asked here is if we’re so nervous about what might happen if athletes speak out, why are we even sending them?

If there is legitimate concern for their safety if they speak out against the CCP, which seems to be the case, maybe we shouldn’t be sending our athletes to China.

What are we going to do if China takes an American athlete into custody like what happened in Brazil with our swimmers? Will our government have the guts to do anything necessary to free them? I’m not sure that’s a conversation any of us want to have.

If you can’t take a stand for human rights, then you have no business being in the public eye. It’s that simple, and if we’re terrified of what might happen in China, we shouldn’t be going.

Let me know in the comments if you agree with my assessment of the situation.