Political activism
FILE - Britain's Katie Ormerod competes during the women's slopestyle qualifying at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Winter Olympians champion climate, peace amid muted activism

By Kelvin Chan Feb. 15, 2022 03:06 AM EST

In this image taken from video footage of an online press conference by Human Rights Watch on AP Video, Teng Biao, visiting professor at the University of Chicago, speaks about the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Human rights activists issued a call to action against the Beijing Olympics on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 imploring athletes and sponsors to speak out against what they call the "genocide games." (AP Video via AP)
Activists urge athletes to speak out at Beijing Olympics

Jan. 28, 2022 05:06 AM EST

Drew Pavlou, left, and Max Mok show some of the 1,000 shirts they plan to hand out to patrons ahead of Saturday's women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. As he was being ejected for wearing a shirt with a Where is Peng Shuai? slogan, Max Mok saw an opportunity to amplify the message at the Australian Open. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Where is Peng Shuai? Australian Open T-shirts grab attention

By John Pye Jan. 28, 2022 12:24 AM EST

FILE - A woman holds up a ligt candle and a phone showing the image of the 1989 tank man protester during a candle vigil to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Friday, June 4, 2021. As Beijing prepares to hold the Winter Olympics opening in February 2022, China's president and party leader Xi Jinping appears firmly in control. The party has made political stability paramount and says that has been the foundation for the economic growth that has bettered lives and put the nation on a path to becoming a regional if not global power. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
From Tiananmen to Hong Kong, China's crackdowns defy critics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 27, 2022 12:20 AM EST

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus takes a selfie with her companion against a Beijing Winter Olympics Mascot and Olympic Tower in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. China has locked down parts of Beijing's Haidian district following the detection of three cases, just weeks before the capital is to host the Winter Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing residents disappointed Olympics will be closed event

Jan. 19, 2022 04:12 AM EST

A person speaks while gathering with others in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 for a protest ralley against the Olympic games in Bejing 2022. A coalition of human rights organizations is calling on German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics in and around Beijing. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), the Tibet Initiative Germany (TID), the Ilham Tohti Initiative and the Association of Hongkongers in Germany e.V. cordially invited for a protest march from the Brandenburg Gate to the Foreign Office. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 18, 2022 11:56 AM EST

Protesters hold protest posters during a protest against Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics by activists of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. (Jean-Guy Python/Keystone via AP)
Olympic leaders criticize FIFA as activists target meeting

By Graham Dunbar Dec. 11, 2021 10:12 AM EST

FILE - A police officer wearing a face mask and goggles to protect against COVID-19, stands near a poster of a skier on the wall at a train station in Zhangjiakou in northern China's Hebei Province, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. China is threatening to take “firm countermeasures" if the U.S. proceeds with a diplomatic boycott of February's Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday accused U.S. politicians of grandstanding over the issue of not sending dignitaries to attend the events that China hopes will showcase its economic development. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
US plans diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

By Aamer Madhani And Alexandra Jaffe Dec. 06, 2021 12:22 PM EST

Greek torch bearer Ioannis Melissanidis, left, Olympic gold medalist in Gymnastics , passes the flame to Christos Volikakis, world Champion in Cycling, in front of ancient Parthenon temple atop of the Acropolis Hill in Athens, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. The flame will be transported by torch relay to Beijing, China, which will host the Feb. 4-20, 2022 Winter Olympics.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Rights activists urge boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

By Nicholas Paphitis Oct. 19, 2021 03:45 AM EDT

Police officers detain protesters displaying a Tibetan flag and a banner disrupting the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece, Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. The flame will be transported by torch relay to Beijing, China, which will host the Feb. 4-20, 2022 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Protestors disrupt flame lighting for Beijing Winter Games

By Nicholas Paphitis And Thanassis Stavrakis Oct. 18, 2021 05:37 AM EDT

Skier Ioannis Antoniou, the first torch bearer, holds an olive branch during the final rehearsal for the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. The flame will be transported by torch relay to Beijing, China, which will host the Feb. 4-20, 2022 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Weather, protest cloud Beijing flame-lighting rehearsal

By Nicholas Paphitis Oct. 17, 2021 07:03 AM EDT

Protesters raise a Tibetan flag and a banner from scaffolding at the Acropolis hill, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. Three people attempted to hang a banner from the Acropolis in Athens Sunday morning in protest at the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics but were arrested before completing their mission. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
2 arrested in Athens for protesting Beijing Olympics

By Demetris Nellas Oct. 17, 2021 04:38 AM EDT

FILE In this file photo taken on Friday, July 9, 2021, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, left, presents the national flag to the captain of Belarus National Olympic team Ivan Tikhon ahead of the Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo, Minsk, Belarus. Lukashenko, who has a keen interest in sports and served as the head of the Belarus National Olympic Committee for nearly a quarter-century before handing over the post to his older son in February, has sternly warned the country's Olympic athletes that they better show high performance. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)
EXPLAINER: What is behind Belarus athlete's Olympics crisis?

By Yuras Karmanau And Vladimir Isachenkov Aug. 04, 2021 03:47 AM EDT

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, of Belarus, runs in the women's 100-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021. Tsimanouskaya alleged her Olympic team tried to remove her from Japan in a dispute that led to a standoff Sunday, Aug. 1, at Tokyo’s main airport. An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and would seek asylum with the Austrian embassy in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Poland grants visa to Belarus Olympian who fears for safety

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 02, 2021 05:16 AM EDT

Activists: Belarusian sprinter seeking visa at Polish embassy in Tokyo after alleging officials tried to force her home

Aug. 02, 2021 05:02 AM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — Activists: Belarusian sprinter seeking visa at Polish embassy in Tokyo after alleging officials tried to force her home. ...

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2018, file photo, John Carlos, left, and Tommie Smith pose for a photo in front of statue that honors their iconic, black-gloved protest at the 1968 Olympic Games, on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif. Smith, Carlos and Gwen Berry are among the more than 150 educators, activists and athletes who signed a letter Thursday, July 22, 2021, urging the IOC not to punish participants who demonstrate at the Tokyo Games. ( (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
Smith, Carlos, Berry demand change in Olympic protest rule

By Eddie Pells Jul. 22, 2021 10:50 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2021, file photo, people walk past posters to promote the Olympic Games scheduled to start in the summer in Tokyo. Frustration is mounting over Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s request that people cooperate while he pushes to hold the Olympics in just over two months. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
IOC says negative public opinion is no threat to Tokyo Games

By Graham Dunbar May. 12, 2021 01:59 PM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014 file photo, Belarus' Andrei Krauchanka celebrates after an attempt in the high jump of the men's decathlon during the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. An Olympic silver medalist who is one of Belarus’ most lauded athletes says he is going on a 10-day hunger strike to support victims of political repression in his country. Krauchanka said Friday, April 30, 2021 that along with the hunger strike, he is selling his European indoor decathlon gold medal from 2011 to help the families of political prisoners. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)
Belarus Olympian to go on hunger strike as political protest

Apr. 30, 2021 12:52 PM EDT

Japanese lawmaker Goshi Hosono speaks during a meeting of "LGBT Equality Law" in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Japan's Olympic chief marks pride week with LGBTQ event

By Mari Yamaguchi Apr. 27, 2021 08:48 AM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 1968 file photo, U.S. athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos raise their gloved fists after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200 meter run at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. Athletes who make political or social justice protest at the Tokyo Olympics were promised legal support Thursday April 22, 2021, by a global union and an activist group in Germany. The pledges came one day after the International Olympic Committee confirmed its long-standing ban on “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” on the field of play, medal podiums or official ceremonies. (AP Photo/File)
Olympic athletes promised legal support if they protest

By Graham Dunbar Apr. 22, 2021 10:41 AM EDT