Cheek is resolutely opposed to the idea of an Olympic boycott as leverage against the Chinese and thankful his own Olympic committee has stood behind his humanitarian efforts. Cheek was USOC sportsman of the year in 2006.
The USOC, like every national Olympic committee, is bound by an Olympic Charter clause that prohibits "demonstrations or political, religious or racial propaganda" in places such as the Olympic village or sports arenas. The USOC has said it will take no action against athletes who exercise free speech without violating the terms of the charter.
In the midst of Britain's Olympic free-speech controversy earlier this month, Richard Vaughan, 30, a two-time British Olympian and 2008 Olympic hopeful in badminton, said he appreciated his Olympic committee's "difficult position . . . but it's very difficult to keep a polite silence about a conflict [Darfur] that continues to cost so many lives."
In a statement posted on Team Darfur's website, Vaughan said, "I think it is crucial we challenge China to uphold the Olympic spirit on the global level."
Moreau said national Olympic committees were free to do whatever they felt appropriate to make sure athletes were aware of rules in the Olympic Charter, "especially athletes competing in the Olympics for the first time who might not know the rules exist."
"You find human rights and using sport to foster human rights throughout the Olympic Charter," Cheek said. "That is why I am shocked that some countries would go out of their way to restrict athletes' speech on questions like human rights."
Cheek testified in 2007 before a congressional committee on Darfur. In the rows behind him sat people with T-shirts reading, "Genocide Olympics."
"As we get ready for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, many people are going to say, 'I don't see the connection between a sporting event and the genocide going on on the other side of the world,' " Cheek told Congress. "The sole reason we have an Olympics is so we can live up to the ideals we profess. . . . It's not just nations that have to live up to the Olympic ideal, it's also the athletes . . . that also have a responsibility."
The IOC has refused to pressure China publicly about human rights. President Jacques Rogge repeats a mantra that the IOC is neither a government nor a representative of the world's non-governmental organizations.
In awarding the 2008 Summer Games to Beijing seven years ago, IOC officials claimed it would lead China to address the human rights and openness issues for which it has been criticized. Beijing's bid committee chairman, Wang Wei, promised before the IOC vote that an Olympics in China "would enhance all social sectors -- education, medical care, human rights, etc."
"It appears the promise has been broken," Engelsman said.
Philip Hersh covers Olympic sports for The Times and the Chicago Tribune.
