The Shadow of Sport: Human Rights Abuses and the Olympics

By: Maeve Hushman, Staff Writer

The Winter Olympics are being hosted in Beijing, China. As a huge hockey fan, I could not be more excited for the Winter Olympics. Not only is my favorite sport being played around the clock by both men and women, but it is also the one time I take the time to watch sports like snowboarding, skiing, bobsled, and my all time favorite only-during-the-Winter-Olympics watch, figure skating. Ever since I was little, the Olympics have been a special occasion. However, there is a dark shadow cast over these Olympic games, that is the shadow of the horrific human rights abuses happening to the Uyghurs at the hands of the Chinese government. 

The Uyghurs are an ethnic and religious minority who live in northwest China in the province of Xinjiang. Uyghurs are mostly Muslims, who speak their own language and have their own distinct culture. 12 million of them live in an area known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) without incident until the recent incursion of the Chinese government. They increased surveillance, put limits on religious services and other such totalitarian measures. These have been direct efforts to limit and suppress Uyghur culture and religion. The Chinese government has been taking Uyghurs to “re-education” camps and reportedly sterilizing Uyghur women. China claims this is a crack down to prevent “religious extremism” but what they are actually doing is committing what many consider to be a genocide. 

The Olympics casts a large spotlight onto any host country and China is no different. Many countries, like the USA and Canada, have opted for diplomatic boycotts, refusing to send any government officials to the games. However, they are still sending athletes and because of that, it also means huge media companies and corporate sponsors. All of them are pouring money into these events which rest on the bodies of the Uyghur people. In the opening ceremony, China showed a skit of what was supposed to depict all of their ethnic groups getting along, which is a textbook example of propaganda. They also had a Uyghur athlete light the torch. This athlete has since been hidden from the media. This Olympics is about selling China to the world in a positive light and part of that means pushing aside the egregious human rights abuses. 

So how do we reckon with our love of sport and of the Olympics with the reality behind them? It is difficult. Even if you decide to boycott the Olympics by not watching or reading coverage, you are still bombarded by ads talking about the Olympic dream and seeing companies still endorsing athletes and the games. You could boycott the corporate sponsors, but how do you boycott certain companies when they aren’t products you even buy to begin with? It is extremely difficult to take action against, which is why the reckoning process shouldn’t be one size fits all. If you think that boycotting the games by not watching them is the best option, then don’t watch. If you think that boycotting the sponsors is the best move, boycott the sponsors. I agreed to cover the Olympics for both the Highlander and my internship, but I try my best as I watch the sports I have to (aka hockey) and  remember what the backdrop of this event is. The Olympics shouldn’t be happening in Beijing and that the Uyghurs shouldn’t be having to suffer under massive injustice.  

So will I still watch and write about the Olympics? Yes , but I will also carefully examine the narratives being pushed and be aware of how my covering the Olympics could fuel the fire already present in the international quagmire right now. It is important to reckon with how politics and issues of justice impact sports and vice versa. China violating all sorts of international human rights makes it difficult to watch the biggest athletic event of the year. So, watch the Olympics if you want to but do not let the truth about what is happening to the Uyghur community be forgotten or covered up. Call out injustice when you see it.