Sportsmeat

Haile Gebrselassie’s recently decided to forgo the marathon in the Summer Olympics that never should have been. Gebrselassie’s is but the latest in a series of moves from athletes and entertainers—Steven Spielberg recently dropped out of his role as artistic adviser due to China’s involvement in Darfur—who are concerned with the poor air quality in Beijing and/or China’s dubious history on human rights.

There is a large segment of the population that does not believe politics should play a role in selecting cities for the Olympics. Even taking this argument into consideration, Beijing’s status as one of the most polluted cities in the world should have given the IOC some pause. Gebrselassie suffers from exercise-induced asthma, as does tennis’ world No. 1 Justine Henin, who is also considering skipping the Games for health reasons.

Also, in my eyes, it is impossible to overlook the human rights considerations. A popular argument is that it is best to work toward incremental change, and that such change is best effected from the inside. By that reasoning, holding the Olympics in Beijing draws attention to China’s record on human rights in a way that could put pressure on the country to alter its current course. I sincerely hope that is true. But more likely, the IOC bestowing the Olympics on Beijing will reinforce China’s belief that what they are doing—and the manner in which they conduct affairs—is OK. Simple logic tells you not to reward bad behavior.

Handing out Olympic bids is not a political action. This is not about China’s standing as a communist country. And certainly there is an argument to be made that nearly every nation has some political downside (many others would oppose Russia for its crackdown on press freedoms or the U.S. based on scandals such as Abu Ghraib or Blackwater). But the dual demerits of poor air quality and a poor record on human rights seem an incurable black stain in China’s case. A more prudent stance for the IOC would have been to tell China why they were out of the running, that changes need to be made before it can be considered for an Olympic bid in the future. Perhaps that is not the IOC’s place. Perhaps it should be.

Understandably, the Chinese people decried Speilberg’s actions, as they did those of the singer Bjork after she chanted “Tibet” at the end of a recent concert. If any athletes follow her lead at the Olympics, they will earn the eternal enmity of the Chinese people. They will also earn my absolute respect.