NBC is getting plenty of pats on the back for covering the various issues with China hosting this year’s Winter Olympics. Just moments into Friday night’s coverage of the opening ceremonies, hosts Mike Tirico and Savannah Guthrie talked about China’s human rights record. The two were joined by Bloomberg’s Andy Browne and Yale professor Jing Tsu to further discuss alleged abuses and genocide on the Uyghur Muslim population in the Western Xinjiang region of the country.
Browne said on air, “They allege a host of human rights abuses, forced labor, coercive birth control practices, indoctrination, and that this all adds up to a form of cultural genocide.”
China has denied these allegations. One of the athletes chosen to light the Olympic cauldron was Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a cross country skier, whom China says has Uyghur heritage.
Yahoo Sports columnist Dan Wetzel wrote, “That choice, a female Uyghur, was a direct shot at outside groups and governments who have condemned China for its treatment against Muslim ethnic minorities who mostly reside in the far northwest part of the country.”
Guthrie called it an “in-your-face response.”
During the opening ceremony broadcast, NBC aired a detailed, prerecorded clip about various human rights issues involving China. It also mentioned the case of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who accused a government official of sexual assault via social media, and then disappeared from public sight and later denied that assault.
Writing for Vulture, Jen Chaney wrote, “There was simply no way to ignore the divisive politics hovering over these games, and NBC, to its credit, made sure its live coverage did not.”
But NBC is celebrating the Olympics, too.
The network has spent billions for broadcast rights of the Olympics, and obviously wants viewers to tune in to watch the next two weeks from Beijing. At the same time, it cannot ignore what’s going on in China, and expect to be taken seriously as a news organization. It would appear NBC’s plan was to hit the controversies hard at the beginning, but then turn attention to the actual events.
Viewers, too, are left wondering what we should do. Should we boycott the Games because of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to give another Olympics to China? Or can we enjoy the competition and the athletes who have nothing to do with the politics and the controversies?
I did find this to be an interesting point made by J.A. Adande on ESPN’s “Around The Horn.” Adande said, “I think it’s standard in sports right now. You have to have a cognitive dissidence. You need to compartmentalize.”
Adande accurately pointed out that millions upon millions of Americans have enjoyed one of the best and most entertaining NFL postseasons ever — and will watch next Sunday’s Super Bowl — and yet have done so despite disturbing allegations about how women are treated with the Washington football team, a lawsuit that further points out the inexcusable lack of minority head coaches and a concussion problem that has been around for decades.
Then Adande said, “Who are we to criticize China’s human rights record when we have ongoing attacks by the agents of the state against unarmed citizens? We’ve got assaults on the voting rights of people of color in various states in this country. Sports — I think it is possible and it is necessary more than ever to just shut everything (else) out if you are to enjoy the actual games themselves.”
Adande made a thought-provoking point when it came to the IOC giving the Olympics to Chinna when he asked, “It’s very hard to find a country that isn’t problematic when it comes to human rights, including here.”
This piece originally appeared in The Poynter Report, our daily newsletter for everyone who cares about the media. Subscribe to The Poynter Report here.
