International Campaign for Tibet

Amaechi: True Olympians will stand up and speak out

From Stockport to the NBA and now to Beijing.

No issue cuts more directly to the heart of the moral and politicaldilemma posed by China's hosting of the Olympics than the right ofathletes to speak their minds. The Beijing Games are already the mostpolitcally charged since Moscow 28 years ago saw the United Stateslead a multi-nation boycott but until now the moral contortions havebeen confined to western leaders attempting to reconcile their rush tocash in on China's economic boom with disquiet over Beijing's dismalrecord on human rights.

Come August 8, however, when the political hand-wringing stops and thegames begin, it will be the athletes who have the power to hold Chinato account.

Anyone willing to mark the collection of a medal with a gesture ofsolidarity for the people of Tibet, or utter a post-race comment incondemnation of China's widespread use of the death penalty, will beguaranteed global exposure.

John Amaechi, an athlete whose career is almost as notable for thecauses he has championed as for his achievements as one of a handfulof Britons to flourish in the NBA, believes it is an opportunity theyshould grasp. The 37-year-old will travel to Beijing as AmnestyInternational's first sporting ambassador and will use the platformprovided by his sporting pedigree, and his role as a BBC commentator,to highlight China's broken promises over human rights. Speakingexclusively to the Guardian, he urged athletes bound for Beijing to dolikewise.

"During their Olympic bid Beijing said the Games would be used toimprove the human rights situation in China. They opened the door tothat scrutiny and by aligning myself with Amnesty I hope that we canhelp hold those promises to account," he says. "People who have issueswith the policies and behaviour of the Chinese authorities shouldspeak out.

"I would encourage athletes not to distract themselves by buryingthemselves in the facts and figures and legislation of China butsimply to acknowledge that being an ambassador for human rights inChina is the most Olympian thing to do. Anything less than that is notbeing a true Olympian no matter the colour of the medal that you holdup."

Amnesty contends that the Chinese have failed to deliver on theirpromise to use the Olympics to introduce human rights reforms andhighlights the continued use of the death penalty, brutal justice anddetention methods, a lack of media freedom and suppression ofpolitical dissent as evidence of their failure.

Amaechi's support for Amnesty is based on the contention that humanrights are a moral right and he is careful to distinguish between theplight of the Chinese people and their political masters.

It is not a view necessarily shared by the International OlympicCommittee, which is deeply anxious about the prospect of athletestaking a stand against China. The Olympic charter specifically bansathletes from using Olympic platforms for "propaganda" purposes andthere are plans to advise all teams on what it considers appropriatebehaviour.

Earlier this year the British Olympic Association attempted to gofurther even than the charter, drafting an athletes' contract thatexplicitly banned them from making any political statements while inBeijing. Public outcry prompted the clause to be swiftly withdrawn.Amaechi describes any attempt to gag athletes as an outrage andbelieves that far from prohibiting athletes the Olympic chartercompels them to speak out against moral abuses.

"To gag athletes is outrageous," he says. "Since when are equality ofopportunity, basic human rights, since when have these things beenpolitical? In terms of the Olympic charter aren't they the universalprinciples that we talk about, the ability to express yourself, to tryto better yourself?

"People can try to politicise them but you can't make them poisonousso other people can't touch them. I won't allow any official to tellme that these are political issues and I cannot go there. Myexperience of the world having lived in eight countries is that humanrights are not political, they are fundamental.

"I've read the Olympic charter and it is quite clear that it expectsfrom athletes something more than being hugely talented beasts ofburden. It expects that sport be more than entertainment of themasses. It demands that they are intended to be a tool for wholesalechange in the lives of individuals and groups."

Amaechi's decision to take on an ambassadorial role with Amnestyemphasises the reluctance of most athletes to involve themselves inissues beyond the stadium. It may be a myth to claim that politics andsport do not mix but it is one that is yet to be punctured in mostdressing rooms.

"Sometimes athletes fall into the trap of being precisely what themost basic fans expects of them," he says. "To be one-dimensional, toofocused on sport and with not much knowledge or interest in anythingelse outside. I would say that athletes in their best light could beholistic role models, not simply regarded for how they swim or run orkick."

Amaechi's willingness to speak out against China's regime ischaracteristic of his career. He and convention do not get along. As aformer team-mate, Tariq Abdul-Wahid, once told him: "Meech, you arethe only person I know who is an expert at not fitting in no matterwhere you are."

Throughout his life the former NBA centre has been a man apart,whether during his formative years in Stockport by virtue of histowering 6ft 10in frame or because of his sexuality during asuccessful career at the pinnacle of American sport.

In 2007 he became the first NBA player publicly to come out, adecision that made him a lightning rod for the debate over sexualityin sport. A serious, fiercely inquisitive and intelligent man, heappears to have relished the consequences.

As well as speaking out on gay and lesbian issues, he established theABC Foundation which attempts to engage young children through sportand has built basketball courts in Manchester and Yorkshire. He was anambassador for London's Olympic bid, championing the social legacy theGames could bring to the capital and the UK, and appears untroubled bythe adverse attention his Amnesty role may bring in China.

"I'm not that concerned," he says. "I'm not representing any countryor political view, I am simply trying to be a person of goodconscience. My mother brought me up to be someone who stood up and wascounted from time to time on issues of great importance. And there isnothing I would talk about in relation to China that I would notequally expect Britain or America to follow."

Amaechi's role with Amnesty has the potential to cause conflict withhis employers at the BBC, who will not welcome sporting commentariesbeing hijacked by politics. "I doubt very much whether human rights isgoing to come up on air at a tip-off but I am an individual notdefined by the parameters of the BBC and as a person of goodconscience I will speak when the opportunities are appropriate," hesays. "Let's see how long I last."

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This article appeared in the Guardian on Saturday May 31 2008 on p8 ofthe Sport news & features section. It was last updated at 00:09 on May31 2008.