The Winter Olympics in Beijing, China has become a hot-button issue as athletes with political and human rights concerns have called for the world to boycott. The International Olympic Committee is set to vote on whether or not they should allow countries with state-sponsored doping programs into the games, but some are still urging sports organization to reconsider their decision.
The “winter olympics 2022” is the year that Beijing will host the Winter Olympics. The “Enes Kanter Freedom urges athletes to boycott Winter Olympics” article discusses why it would be best for athletes not to participate in this event.
‘Pick principles before money,’ says Enes Kanter in Beijing 2022.
Enes Kanter Freedom, an NBA player, has called on athletes to boycott the Winter Olympics in China.
The Boston Celtics star declared three weeks before the opening ceremony in Beijing that sportsmen should choose “morals above money.”
Kanter Freedom criticized China’s human rights record in an interview with Dan Roan on the’s The Sports Desk podcast.
“A genocide is taking place right now while we’re talking,” he claimed.
“It’s critical that athletes utilize their platforms to speak out for all the innocent people who don’t have a voice across the globe.”
“There are so many sportsmen, actresses, singers and rappers, or individuals with platforms, who are afraid to say anything because there is clearly so much business involved, so much money involved, and sometimes plainly China is paying the bills, so they are hesitant to say anything.”
For the first time last year, the UK government proclaimed genocide against Uyghurs and others in north-western China. All allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang are denied by the Chinese government.
Born in Switzerland, reared in Turkey Kanter Freedom, who changed his name to Freedom after attaining US citizenship, has spoken out against China’s Tibet policy, as well as the detention of the country’s Uyghur Muslim minority. He informed the Sports Desk that he had been interacting with Olympians personally.
“I’ve sat down with a number of other athletes and had discussions with them. ‘Look at what they did to their own tennis star, Peng Shuai,’ I constantly remind them. ‘Are we going to put our faith in them with our own players?’”
Last year, when the former Wimbledon women’s doubles champion withdrew charges of sexual coercion she had made against China’s former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and retired from public life, concerns were expressed about Peng’s safety and well-being.
“I feel like all the players out there ought to go out and say, ‘I can’t play a game when there’s a genocide going on, where there’s all these human rights violations, where people are being tortured and raped in concentration camps,’” Kanter Freedom said.
“I’m still optimistic because when I speak to these Olympic athletes, I tell them that all the gold medals in the world aren’t more important than their morals, ideals, and values, therefore I believe we need to stand up for what’s right.”
The Celtics center recently debuted a pair of sneakers with the words “Free Tibet.”
Tibet, a remote and mostly Buddhist area, has long been accused of Chinese repression of cultural and religious freedom. The government dismisses the allegations, claiming that Tibet has progressed significantly under its leadership.
“You see so many diverse people suffering, like as Tibetans, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, Uyghurs, and Mongolians,” he remarked. “I couldn’t simply think about all of my business responsibilities or keep quiet, so I had to speak out.”
Kanter Freedom’s account was suspended on Weibo, China’s most popular social networking site, after he called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “cruel dictator.” Streaming sites in China have also been blocked from showing Boston Celtics games.
In addition, he chastised the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for hosting the Winter Olympics in China.
He said, “They are part of the issue since China does not respect human rights, friendship, or freedom of speech.” “Organizing Olympic Games in a nation like China is a disgrace to the IOC.”
While the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia have announced diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Olympics, which run from 4 to 20 February and are followed by the Winter Paralympics on 4 to 13 March, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stated that it takes a politically neutral stance and views the Games as an apolitical sporting event.
Kanter Freedom migrated to the United States from Turkey at the age of 17 and went on to be the third overall choice in the 2011 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz.
The 29-year-old has long been a critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his passport was revoked and an international arrest order issued for him in 2019 after Turkish officials accused him of having connections to the organizers of a failed coup attempt in 2016. In the aftermath of the failed coup, Kanter Freedom’s father was imprisoned in Turkey, but has since been exonerated of terrorist charges and freed.
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