We're about one week out from the start of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and this year, the games are not business as usual. They'll be taking place against a backdrop of Chinese government crimes against humanity targeting ethnic Uyghurs, repression in Hong Kong and Tibet, and risks to athletes unprecedented in the modern Olympic era. Athletes participating in the games will be surveilled, and their rights to free speech and protest severely curtailed. One government official has threatened criminal punishment for any athlete who dares to speak out about human rights in China. We know the government's threat is real. Just look at Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who was silenced last year after making a sexual assault complaint against a former government official on social media. The International Olympic Committee says the games “celebrate humanity.” Unfortunately, Beijing appears to be taking a decidedly inhumane approach by denying athletes their basic human rights before they even step foot in China. | 
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