Report: Biden says U.S. is considering a ban of 2022 Beijing Olympics
No Team USA!?
HockeyFeed
United States president Joe Biden said earlier today that his administration is "considering" a ban of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China over concerns with the country's human rights violations.
From Bloomberg Politics:
It’s “something we’re considering,” Biden said in response to a question during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday.
Some U.S. lawmakers have urged a diplomatic boycott to show American disapproval of recent Chinese economic and military actions and the country’s human-rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
Biden and Chinese President Xi Jingping didn’t discuss the Olympics during a 3.5-hour-long virtual summit on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said after Biden’s remark.
“We have serious concerns about the human rights abuses we’ve seen in Xinjiang,” White House secretary Jen Psaki said following Biden's remarks. “And certainly there are a range of factors as we look at what our presence would be.”
The Beijing games are set to open on February 4th, 2022 but the Chinese delegation has been under scrutiny in recent months both for their COVID-19 control measures and for their track record regarding human rights. It's not exactly a secret that China's economy relies of forced labor (otherwise known as slavery) and it's encouraging to see a leader like the United States step up to China on the world stage.
Now, having said that, if the U.S. were to pull out of the games it would be a huge blow to both the men's and the women's hockey tournaments. Team USA is a gold medal contender in both divisions and, frankly, I feel fans will be robbed of a true "best on best" international tournament just as they were in 2018. Personally, I've been salivating over a U.S. men's team that could feature the likes of Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Matthew Tkacuk, Dylan Larkin, Johnny Gaudreau, Zach Werenski, Quinn Hughes, John Carlson, Connor Hellebuyck and John Gibson just to name a few. They have a legitimate shot at rivaling Team Canada as the top roster heading into the games, so I'm kind of torn on Biden's decision today. Then again... this administration does seem to have more bark than bite, so who knows?
