International sporting event gets political

The U.S. State Department is considering the option to boycott the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics hosted in Beijing, China. The Biden administration recently made direct comments connecting human rights abuses in China in regards to the upcoming Bejing Games.

U.S. considering boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics over China's human rights abuses https://t.co/c786UINhJQ

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) April 6, 2021

The U.S. State Department is considering discussing the option of boycotting the Beijing Games with U.S. allies but isn’t specifying what the boycott entails or whether it would involve athletes. The Biden administration has promised to hold the Chinese government accountable for mistreating minorities with other politicians against China.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney advocates for a diplomatic and economic boycott of the games that would still allow U.S. athletes to compete while senators Rick Scott and Jim Inhofe have pressed to move the games. The U.S. government has concerns surrounding the human rights violations of the Beijing government and the United States’ involvement will impact this political issue.

The State Department is considering a possible joint boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, as calls have grown for the U.S. to back out of the event due to human rights violations in China https://t.co/vHrVsIOS12

— POLITICO (@politico) April 6, 2021

The State Department has yet to make an announcement regarding this matter as they have a year to consider whether to boycott the games or influence possible changes to the international sporting event. The board chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee board, Susanne Lyons, disclosed the organizations hope to avoid any boycotts citing previous cases that have shown to negatively impact athletes.