Should sports and politics mix?
[Ed.’s note: In the midst of the hoo-ha about the upcoming Beijing Olympics 2008, there are strong sentiments coming from all over the world, not necessarily patriotic enthusiasm or directly related to the Olympics. Check out what our regulars at V.A.T had to say, and the related news reports below.]
Daily Mail Online (UK)
10 May 2008
“The Olympic Games are for athletes, not for politicians,’ argued Deng Yaping, the deputy director of the Olympic Village, last week. ‘There are no politicians competing in the Olympics, and we don’t want them to use the athletes as their tool.”
full article from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-565404/The-faces-Olympics.html, last accessed on 9 June 2008.
The Indianapolis Star (USA)
4 June 2008
“Tibetan activists want President Bush to boycott the Olympics’ opening ceremony in Beijing this August… trying to pressure the International Olympic Committee into demanding that China not carry the Olympic flame through Tibet.”
full article from http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/LOCAL18/806040419, last accessed on 9 June 2008.
International Herald Tribune (USA)
3 June 2008
“Pro-Tibetan activists on Tuesday promised worldwide protests during the Beijing Olympics and said they would try to penetrate security to mount demonstrations in Beijing itself.”
full article from http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/03/europe/EU-GEN-Greece-Tibet-Protests.php, last accessed on 9 June 2008.
final food for thought:
What about business and sports? Can sports survive without the backing from their sponsors? (think sponsor logos on the back of soccer players’ jerseys, think Tiger Woods and Nike)
“a report published by an academic journal in the United States this week… suggests that none of the sponsors of this summer’s games in Beijing will get any tangible, quantifiable return for their investment”
full article from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/06/04/sbjimw104.xml, last accessed on 9 June 2008.
What do you feel about this entire Olympics saga? Leave us your comments!
Posted by: Kaydence Chai
Assoc. Librarian, Young People’s Services
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