What the athletes are saying about talks of a boycott of the Beijing Olympics:
Paul Hamm, defending Olympic all-around champion in gymnastics: “I think for a lot of athletes, we’re going to steer away from the whole political issue. In the Olympic mandate I believe it mentions politics is not where the Olympic Games is at, and that’s something that should be done elsewhere. The Olympic Movement is more about bringing the world together in peace and harmony and seeing what humanity is capable of, athletically. That’s our focus. We can’t be worried about all the problems in the world, though we need to be aware of them. I don’t think it’s a platform for our political views necessarily to come out.”
Allyson Felix, track, Olympic silver medalist 200 meters 2004, reigning world champion: “If you feel passionate about something, you definitely should take a stand on it. There’s kind of a time and a place for everything. It just makes me even more grateful to be American, to see the things we have and not take it for granted.”
Mike Lambert, beach volleyball: “Obviously people in the West want things to be better for those people (in China). The pressure always is going to be there for them to do a better job on human rights. The world is getting smaller. That pressure to treat people how you’d like to be treated is a universal thing that is never really going to go away. It’s something they’re going to have to face one day or another, whether they choose to do it now while they’re on the world stage at the Olympics or later.”
— Compiled by John Meyer
