This Week in Sports; Political tensions grow between the USA and China over possible Olympic boycott

BY MARCEL MARIAK

Hockey: The Leafs looking strong with their continued win-streak
In recent years, there were times when the Maple Leafs looked like a seriously half-cooked team. From their poor management under Babcock, to a heartbreaking playoffs game-7 defeat to the Bruins in 2019, to a sexual harassment controversy involving Auston Matthews, the Leafs have had their fair share of thrashings.

Despite the recent upsets, the Leafs are looking incredibly strong this season. This week, the Maple Leafs continued their five game win-streak with an impressive victory over the NHL’s least favourite team (that’s right, I said it), the Montreal Canadiens. With both teams scoring one point in the first period and no goals scored in the second, it all came down to the final period. The Leafs took the fight to Montreal early in the third period with a goal by Brodie – his first for Toronto. Eight minutes later, the Leafs doubled their lead with another goal, this time by Hyman off of a rebound from Auston Matthews’ attempt. The second goal seemed to light a fire under the Canadiens and they responded with a goal of their own late in the third period. Fortunately, the goal came too late in the game and there simply wasn’t enough time left on the clock for Montreal to make a comeback. With some last-minute defensive strategy, the Leafs emerged victorious and added another tally to their ever-growing win streak!

The Olympics: China threatens “Robust Chinese Response” over potential Beijing 2022 boycott
For the past year, China has consistently been making the front-page news as a growing economy, ground-zero for the coronavirus pandemic, and most recently, for their constant human-rights abuses. As the international community continues to gather intelligence on The People’s Republic of China, the more profound the reported human rights abuses become. What started as a general disliking of religion by the Communist Party of China has in recent times been labeled a full-blown genocide against China’s Uyghur Muslim population. As time goes on, an increasing amount of reports regarding concentration camp-style ‘reeducation camps,’ forced labour, torture, and several other human-rights abuses are appearing in the media.

In response, several countries including the United States and Canada have denounced the Chinese government. With the newly elected POTUS, Joe Biden, looking to make a profound impact in his first year in office, he made a statement that could put an even greater strain on diplomatic relations between the US and PRC: he threatened to boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics. An American Olympic boycott is bad for China for a number of reasons. Firstly, an American boycott would make the international spotlight on China’s human-rights abuses even brighter; the subsequent media and intelligence barrage on China would likely uncover even more heinous actions by the communist party. Secondly, an American Olympic boycott would likely cause even more nations to exit the Olympics, costing the Chinese economy billions in lost tourism.

In an attempt to discourage the USA from boycotting the Olympics, China released several powerful – and slightly threatening – statements. “The politicization of sports will damage the spirit of the Olympic Charter and the interests of athletes from all countries,” said a Chinese spokesperson, “the international community including the U.S. Olympic Committee will not accept it.” The statement went on to threaten of an unspecified, “robust Chinese response,” in retaliation to the boycott, causing many to wonder what China is planning in case the Olympics don’t go their way.

There are several different viewpoints on the subject circulating the international community. On one hand, many believe that China must be put into the international spotlight and held responsible for their actions and human rights abuses. An Olympic boycott would exponentially increase the amount of media pressure on China, perhaps even forcing the government to temporarily halt their human-rights abuses. On the other hand, many people argue that although China should be held responsible for its actions, young athletes shouldn’t be used as “political pawns” and real politicians and diplomats should be used to handle these issues instead.