Beijing baloney

In theory, the Olympics are about sports, not politics.

In reality, of course, you can’t separate the two.

Especially when countries like China host the spectacle.

On the one hand, let’s give credit where credit is due.

China is not the human-rights hellhole it used to be. Chinese people still can’t challenge the one-party rule — and do a lot of other things that truly free people do. But they have a lot of personal freedoms, ranging from unlimited travel to the unlimited pursuit of wealth.

That’s nice.

What’s not nice is China’s continued oppression of Tibet, its continued threats against Taiwan and its continued support of evil dictatorships like North Korea and Burma.

So if over the next two weeks, you see Olympic athletes speaking out against China’s shortcomings, don’t fall for the Communist Party line that they are mixing sports and politics or violating the spirit of the games.

And on that note, who leaned on the U.S. cyclists and forced them to apologize for wearing black face masks when they entered Beijing?

Michael Friedman, Sarah Hammer, Bobby Lea and Jennie Reed released a statement Wednesday that sounds like it was written by the Chinese Politburo:

“The wearing of protective masks upon our arrival into Beijing was strictly a precautionary measure we as athletes chose to take, and was in no way meant to serve as an environmental or political statement. We deeply regret the nature of our choices. Our decision was not intended to insult BOCOG or countless others who have put forth a tremendous amount of effort to improve the air quality in Beijing.”

Huh? The masks were right on. Beijing’s air — and its politics — are polluted.

The cyclists were making a statement that needed to be made. If it ruffled a few feathers in China ... good!