Michaela Schiffrin looks to the future. © AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI

And the increasingly loud calls in the United States to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 are making skateboarding star Michaela Schiffrin ponder.

March 03, 2021

The American told the TV presenter, “ As an athlete, you should not be forced to choose your morals or your job. CNN. “Olympia is great.” The Olympic champion said twice about the possible boycott of the Games, “It’s something you are for that you don’t want to miss.”

According to human rights organizations and academics, at least one million Uighurs and other Muslims are being held in internment camps in Xinjiang Province, northwest China. Therefore, they are forced to abandon their religion, culture and language, and in some cases, they are subjected to ill-treatment. Beijing also recently cracked down on the democratic movement in Hong Kong.

“Not just allegations, but clear evidence.”
Michaela Schwerin on the human rights situation

Schiffrin said competition in countries accused of human rights violations was “difficult”. Not only are there “claims, but there is also clear evidence of this in the many places we were last with the Games.” The International Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee should take better account of how athletes will feel when selecting stadiums.

On the other hand, athletes from other countries in particular can make human rights issues an issue at an event like the Olympics, “or give the world some hope at a very difficult time,” Schiffrin stressed. A White House spokesman announced last week whether the United States will participate in the Beijing Olympics in 2022.

Author: apa / fop