US athletes against boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

The US National Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has spoken out against a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Athletes should not be used as “political pawns”, USOPC president Susanne Lyons said yesterday on the sidelines of a press event for the US team, according to a report by the AFP news agency. “We at the USOPC oppose athlete boycotts because they have been shown to negatively impact athletes without effectively addressing global issues,” Lyons told journalists. For athletes, representing the United States is their “only dream”, Lyons said.