Forty years ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was invited to play for the United States basketball team in the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. It was a decision he struggled with as racial strife and the Vietnam War made participation a sticky issue for him. He ultimately chose not to play, because of a summer job not politics he says, and was at home watching when Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in the iconic moment of those games. Abdul-Jabbar's memories have been stoked by the discussion about possible boycotts of this summer's Games in Beijing, a topic he discusses in a piece written for the Los Angeles Times.
Should we boycott the Olympic Games to protest China's arrogant human rights performance, its political imperialism, its shoddy exports that recently have left some Americans ill or dead?
The answer is no. While it may seem disingenuous to be playing games with countries that aim weapons at us, the same claim can be made about us by many other countries.
I am of a mind that the actions of Smith and Carlos made a difference in 1968. However, this Olympics is an entirely different situation that requires different tactics to achieve a satisfactory resolution. Instead of turning our backs, we need to continue a dialogue with the Chinese.
Why can't part of that dialogue take place at the Games in a similar fashion as 1968?
