In autumn Australians emerged from charges of poor sportsmanship by national cricketers into the simpler area of immature off-field behaviour by football heroes. But any respite has been brief because Olympians are now embroiled in political controversy. The Australian Olympic Committee has decided to include a clause in athletes' contracts that will limit their capacity for public comment during the Beijing games.
While the Committee denies the clause is a gag, the rule enabling management to veto comments not strictly related to an athlete's event could be used to prevent individual competitors commenting about the human rights situation in China.
China is attracting criticism over its suppression of protests about Tibetan autonomy. There are ongoing concerns about persecution of Falun Gong and the sale of the organs of executed people. Amnesty lists as human rights concerns 'the death penalty, torture, unfair trials, the freedom of people who defend their own and others' human rights, and specifically in the lead-up to the Olympic Games ... media and internet repression'.
A group of US athletes known as 'Team Darfur' is urging Western governments to place greater pressure on China over its support for the dictatorial regime in Sudan. When an Australian joined that movement, she stated publicly her belief that she did not have to consult the Australian IOC, because they 'have been very clear in saying we do have freedom of speech and freedom of opinion, and that's fantastic'. Something has changed.
It is easy to adopt a cynical view of the 'gag'. The Committee sponsors athletes by giving them official endorsement and financial support and so might claim the power to discipline them. It is possible for anyone who objects to the clause to withdraw from the team but this is neither practical nor desirable. Although it may seem unnatural for elite sportspeople to tailor their lives according to a distant goal, many of them would not remember a time before they began training for Beijing 2008. To make unpredictable new demands upon them within weeks of competition is tantamount to holding them to ransom for years of dedication.
Athletes with serious concerns about any incident witnessed in China would feel conscience-bound to report it. We Australians know that the freedom to participate in a sport of our choice is a result of having a free society in which governments serve the people and not vice-versa. Without human rights there