Dick Ebersol, who has run NBC Sports for the last two decades and has perhaps more influence over the Olympics than any other American, wants to make perfectly clear where he stands on the human rights atrocities committed by China: He won't let them get in the way of enjoying a good sporting event. Ebersol said NBC won't cover protests during the Beijing Olympics, and he had this to say on the subject:
"I believed in July of 2001 and believe today that the I.O.C. gave the Games to Beijing because it was really important for them to take place for the first time in the largest nation in the world. As it relates to the mysteries of China, including human rights, I believe giving the Games to China shines a light on a part of the world that wouldn't otherwise exist."
Except that there's no "mystery" surrounding China's human rights record; the appalling record of the larges country in the world has been very thoroughly documented.
It's bad enough that the NBC executive who runs the sports division has such an outlook toward human rights in China. Let's hope the executives who run the news division see things more clearly.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-26-2008 @ 8:29AM
Kustie the Klown said...
There was at one time an excellent, incisive comment on this thread. Alas, it wasn't to the liking of MDS, who "disappeared" it. Now, there are zero comments.
Nice work MDS on putting together a real thought provoking post that invites discussion. Bravo.
The disappeared post said nothing offensive at all. The hilarious irony, of course, (and one no doubt lost on poor MDS) is that the subject of the "discussion" here is whether China's police state tactics will hamper the olympic games.
Jeez, i guess you just answered your own question! With police state tactics used to hamper a discussion of same!
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