Rude Olympic Cyclists Arrive in Beijing
by Judd WileyAugust 5th, 2008, 6:52 pm
Today, several members of the U.S. cycle squad arrived in Beijing for the Olympic Games wearing black respiratory masks.
The idea apparently was to make a political statement about air pollution, the environment, and possibly global warming.
I have a few comments for these U.S. athletes.
First, we the taxpayers are the USOC is sending you to China to race your bikes, not to make environmental statements. Please remember this.
Second, China is the host and you are the guests. Please show some respect.
Third, due to the intensely geo-political nature of these games, you are de facto U.S. ambassadors to China. You represent all of us. Please start acting like it.
Fourth, until you win your races and prove that you’re worth a damn, your opinions are insignificant. Please shut up.
Fifth, if this is really important to you, don’t go to Beijing at all. A half ass protest just makes you look foolish and selfish - I care about this cause, but not enough to forgo the opportunity to win a medal.
We often hear about how we need to not be so arrogant in our foreign politics. This applies to ordinary people as well as our elected officials.
UPDATE: August 8, 2008, 7:12 PM
Since this story first broke with a frenzy, the U.S. cyclists have apologized, and stated that they were not trying to make a political statement. No evidence has emerged to the contrary.
If we take them at their word, my 1st, 4th, and 5th comments above are no longer relevant. However, the fact remains these cyclists’ actions were incredibly rude and thoughtless. My 2nd and 3rd points stand.
Posted in Bicycles, Environmentalism, Politics, Third World Hellholes |
Now comes the furious backpedaling and damage control:
“This is really a surprise, because I didn’t think it was going to be such a big deal,” [Cyclist Mike] Friedman said. “Why we wore the masks is simple: pollution. When you train your whole life for something, dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s, why wouldn’t you be better safe than sorry?”
“They have pollution in Los Angeles, and if the Olympics were in Los Angeles, we would probably wear these masks, too.”
Yeah right. Two of these cyclists wore their masks on the airplane! They had the masks on before they even touched down in Beijing!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/sports/olympics/06masks.html
Yeah, I’m sure that none of these tools ever trained anywhere that there is pollution. Where did their plane take off from? My guess would be a big city with lots of pollution. Idiots.
What happened to the old days, when athletes would prep for their events in areas similar to the climate/altitude of the actual location of their events? i.e. work out at high altitudes if their event was to be held in, say, Denver? If we’re to take the athletes at their word, they’re essentially telling us that they’re so fragile and sensitive and unprepared that they can’t deal with Beijing’s air pollution. That is absurd. Part of their training process should have been to suck it up in some polluted area, so that they’re ready come race day. But I think Judd is right - these cyclists are trying to make a political message. This is what this whole thing is about. It just shows how cycling (for many) has become a political act these days.
The only way I will ever believe that this wasn’t an overtly political act is if these cyclists wear their masks from now until their events. I want to see them wearing their masks when they’re sleeping, when they’re chewing their food, when they’re going to the bathroom, when they’re out on the town. Only then will I believe that this was some kind of non-political necessity.
Also, if this was such a necessity, why weren’t all of the U.S. cyclists wearing their masks?
Shouldn’t we be pissed off at the US Olympic Committee?
According to news reports, “The masks worn by the cyclists were designed and issued by the US Olympic Committee, which recommended that athletes wear them in the Chinese capital.”
That’s a good point, although I’d like to know a little more about what the exact instructions were.
Doesn’t seem much like a political act by rogue cyclists to me. According to the story, “the U.S.O.C.’s lead exercise physiologist, Randy Wilber, had advised the athletes to wear the masks on the plane and as soon as they stepped foot here.”
Have you been to Beijing? The pollution is far worse there than in pretty much any U.S. city. Even the locals wear masks when outside.
You’re also talking about world-class athletes in an aerobically demanding sport. They weren’t advised to wear masks because they’re more fragile than you or I, they do it because they have to compete with others of similar strength and talent.
The conditions in China are prompting many teams from many countries to do special things. The meat there is so loaded with hormones and steroids that countries are bringing their own food so that their athletes don’t test positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Many teams aren’t even training there due to the dirty air and questionable food, opting instead for Japan, Korea, or Taiwan.
John,
I want to believe you, but I just don’t. Let me repeat my main points here.
- If these masks were necessary, all of the US cyclists would have been wearing them, not just four. Not to mention athletes in other events.
- Also, these cyclists would not have taken their masks off, apologized, groveled, etc. They’d be still wearing the masks day and night.
That said, if you’re right, then the USOC either doesn’t have a public relations department, or has staffed it with amateurs.
What probably happened is that the team was handed the masks and the recommendations and most thought that it was silly or that they didn’t need them. A few did, and I’m curious whether other athletes wore the masks or just these four.
If they were protesting something, I doubt they would have been so contrite in their reactions. They would have used the opportunity to air their views.
You’re right, the best protest would have been to not show up at all.
You write of “we the taxpayers” sending athletes to China, but my understanding is that the US Olympic Committee gets little to no support from the US government. Do you know something I don’t?
In any case, if I were an athlete, going into a city universally acknowledged as having poor air quality, I’d probably “mask up” too. It’s not like the Chinese don’t know they have terrible smog. And if I lost my event, I’d want to be able to say I took all precautions and did everything I could to win, not that “the smog did me in.”
You’re right, the U.S. government doesn’t fund the USOC.
Wow.
I’ve never seen such a silly pack of lies all stuffed into a handful of paragraphs.
1) The USOC gave them masks and recommended they wear them.
Uh, that’s really the only rebuttal to your silliness that I need.
John is completely right. You’re simply blinded by your hatred of the Left, so you see boogeymen under every bed.
I’m sure it’s fun to have the opportunity to sound off half-cocked whenever you please, but it might help your credibility if you used some facts, maybe actually READ THE FREAKIN ARTICLE before you sound off.
Just a suggestion.
artemis_jax, we don’t even know if these guys are that far left. (Some people on the right care about the environment too.) China is upset about this being a PR problem. But the pollution is real, I think we all know that. And yes, it can slow athletes down.
Sandy, I know that. I’m making an educated assumption about the purpose behind this article from past readings of this website.
The pollution there is horrific.
And whenever anyone exercises, movement of air in the lungs goes up by about 1000%, making any pollution even more dangerous.
You’ve got that’s right. It’s not the same as walking around. I know this from jogging. When it’s rush-hour my lungs can tell, that’s why I try to go pre-dawn if possible.
This has nothing to do with the political left or right. It’s about manners.
In the news today:
Ed Eyestone, an American who ran in Olympic marathons in Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992, said that the cyclists’ stunt was a “major faux pas”.
“You don’t come in a host’s home and plug your nose as you walk through the doorstep,” he told this reporter. “Part of the Olympic ideal is to be respectful to other people.”
Eyestone, who trains a US athlete who is competing in the steeplechase, also believes the pollution problem is overblown.
“It certain is less than ideal,” he said. “However I think the heat and humidity are going to be the main factors, at least in the distance races.”
I’ll admit that there’s no hard evidence that these cyclists meant their black mask-wearing as a political statement on the environment - as I argue in my post - although as soon as this story broke that’s what the buzz was, which is why I mentioned it above.
Yet the rudeness was still there. And the fact that these cyclists didn’t realize they were being rude makes it even worse. They essentially walked onto the world stage, stood in front of the cameras, hawked lugies, and spit on the floor of their guests - without realizing it. And then they apologized while offering up excuses about why they had to spit all over the floor.
I don’t care if their handlers gave them these masks. It’s still rude, and they should have known better.
I’m also sick of hearing about what great athletes these cyclists are. When we talk about competitive cycling, we’re talking about a sport that’s been overrun in recent years with cheaters, dopers, and swindlers who’ve sold out their country, their sport, and their fans for the ability to gain a slight edge in their events.
If they don’t want to race in Beijing because of the smog, they should just stay home.