Politics and sport.
"Politics and sports do not belong together." A popular phrase, used at will by anyone who wants to score political points cheaply and curry favour with athletes. Needless to say, the opposite is true, because politics simply permeates everything. Sports competitions, world championships and, above all, the preparation and organisation of major sporting events have an unquestionable political dimension. History confirms the misuse of the Olympic Games for propaganda purposes by Nazi Germany (1936 Olympics, Berlin), politics left its mark in the form of a terrorist act during the Munich Olympics (1972), and the tug-of-war between 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 (Los Angeles) over which of the organizing countries could secure the greater number of boycotters, clearly with political motivation, is stored in the memory of older sports fans. Legitimate doubts about the fairness and apolitical nature of the Games also accompany the 2008 Summer Olympics in China and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia. The Olympic Games in general are such a massive sporting and social event with a mammoth budget and global impact that it is more than tempting to insert a political appeal, to fulfil a predetermined marketing plan, to influence and change the view on a chosen topic, or to cover up what should not be seen. It is just as easy to intersperse targeted and purposeful events with the argument that sport and politics do not belong together. And that anyone who would deny athletes the right to participate is an irresponsible knitter and is responsible for the wasted time, money, hope and career of every single participant. It's a bit reminiscent of live human shields being driven in a military engagement in front of a combat unit, with the intention of preventing the opponent from effectively defending himself. It simply relies on humanity.
Any politically motivated activity exploiting the phenomenon of the Olympic Games is tricky. Usually in a noble guise, they use practices that are on the edge of correctness. Calls for boycotts of the Olympic Games, whether platonic or serious, are common, and the classic justifications have been joined by scares and threats of an epidemic situation. This is nothing entirely new. The Rio Games (2016) were threatened by the Zika virus, which caused many athletes to refuse to participate. In the end, the virus did not strike and had a net zero incidence. Tokyo is struggling with the problem of a lack of support for the Games from the Japanese public, and if they are held at all, it will be at the cost of major restrictions. The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are on the scene, just over eight months away. It is, of course, tempting to insert a political aspect into this period. In the case of China, it is easy to raise the issues of human rights violations, the controlled oppression of minorities, the violation of international treaties (Hong Kong, Taiwan), etc. Although this seems like an abuse of sport for political purposes, it is not. To raise these sensitive, overlooked and underestimated issues in the context of a giant propaganda event is the right thing to do. The question is one of form. The call by Czech senators, following Nancy Pelosi's (Speaker of the US House of Representatives) statement on a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics, has received considerable attention due to misinterpretation. Those who read only the headlines must have got the impression that history was repeating itself and that once again, years later, athletes were being ordered or advised not to participate in the Games. The bottom line is that the appeal is not aimed at athletes, although it is certainly debatable what effect such strained statements and actions have on the potential performance of athletes. The statement is directed purely at political representations and sports officials. Their visual assistance and personal presence alongside dictators and authoritarians carries weight and value in legitimizing regimes and is not infrequently used to exert political and economic pressure.
A proposal to boycott the Olympics only makes sense if it has a very good information base, secured broad support, unquestionable moral credit and is well communicated. Including the participation/non-participation of athletes in the communication mix in any way brings more risks than benefits. However, a declared affiliation with the call from sports as well as other celebrities is a seemingly superfluous yet necessary addition that will lend credibility and legitimacy to the cause and make it viable.
This article is also in the sports section.