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US bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, in isolation, still training and caring for son ahead of Olympics

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BEIJING) — The fear of testing positive for COVID is a constant stress hanging over athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics, a fear realized for U.S. women’s bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor.

Meyers Taylor tested positive on day two after entering the country, which has forced her to isolate from her family and teammates while she quarantines.

The 37-year-old, who tested negative Wednesday, must test negative twice to return to the Olympic village.

“I was pretty shocked,” Meyers Taylor told ABC News Thursday. “We did everything we could to try and avoid it and still caught up to us anyways.”

The new mother is now isolated from her son, Nico, and her husband. The family traveled to China together for the Games.

Meyers Taylor said she can’t just focus on training while in isolation. She also needs to take care of her son, who was born in 2020 with Down syndrome and is still nursing.

“We FaceTime as much as we can and, you know, just trying to do everything we can to stay connected,” Meyers Taylor said.

Now that she has to isolate herself from her baby, she said she’s doing everything to make sure he’s OK. Team USA was able to find her a breast pump, and she said the hotel staff has been great at helping make milk deliveries.

Meyers Taylor said she’s thankful her husband is on the trip and can care for Nico while she isolates.

Being an Olympian and a mom takes a team, she said.

After arriving in the country with no problems, Meyers Taylor, her husband and son all tested positive. She said all are asymptomatic but have to quarantine separately in a Chinese isolation facility.

As Meyers Taylor waits out quarantine, she’s missing crucial training days ahead of her big competition; the first-ever running of the woman’s monobob. The three-time Olympian said she’s pumped for the new event.

“It feels like you’re flying. Like, it is just amazing and just the feeling of gravity, the feeling of pressure, the feeling of the wind rushing past you …” Meyers Taylor said. “It really does feel like you’re a superhero and the speed suits don’t hurt.”

As she trains in isolation, Meyers Taylor got an exercise bike dropped off at her hotel room to stay in shape. She said since her husband, who is also her physical trainer, is staying in an identical hotel room, he’s been able to devise a hotel workout plan for her to follow.

Meyers Taylor, who was selected as a flag bearer for Team USA at this year’s Winter Olympics, will not attend Friday’s Olympics Opening Ceremony because of COVID. Speed skater Brittany Bowe is set to replace Meyers Taylor at the ceremony.

“She was one of the first people to reach out to me after she learned I had COVID … that’s why sport is so important; you make relationships that last forever,” Meyers Taylor said.

Out of the 441 U.S. Olympic delegates in China, eight are in isolation, according to the International Olympic Committee.

Inside the Olympics closed loop, which separates athletes, team officials and members of the press from the rest of the Chinese population, athletes live under a daily regimen of temperature checks and COVID tests administered by workers dressed in full-body personal protective equipment.

First-time Olympians Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc told ABC News they felt safe practicing on the rink and were trying to focus on what was “within their control” despite the lingering COVID worries.

The two figure skaters made their debut on the ice Wednesday for their first practice on Beijing’s main rink.

Three thousand people will perform in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders Friday at the Opening Ceremony. There will be no official American delegation after the U.S. announced a diplomatic boycott of the games.

Jackie Chan carried the Olympic torch on top of the Great Wall of China on Thursday, as Beijing counted down the final day before the Games kick off.

Senators close in on ‘mother of all sanctions’ bill against Russia

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A bipartisan group of senators is within striking distance of a deal on a bill that would impose crippling sanctions on Russia for its hostilities against Ukraine.

“We are finding the path forward very clearly,” said Sen. Jim Risch, top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, indicating that the White House and other key agencies were involved in the negotiations to agree on a deal ahead of any potential invasion by Russia, which has amassed more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border.

Asked if a deal could be announced as early as Thursday, Risch said, “I’d have to say that’s possible,” though aides to three senators involved said it was unlikely.

Top Biden administration officials briefed members of Congress on Thursday about the escalating tensions in and around the former Soviet Republic. Lawmakers leaving the more than hourlong briefing in the Congressional Visitor Center said the gravity of the message from those top officials, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Avril Haines, added urgency to their efforts.

“Collectively, what I heard made the case that this is more pressing, more timely, and that time in this regard, if we want to be preventative, is of the essence,” said Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J. Menendez, who is the chief architect of the sanctions bill along with Risch, added that he is “cautiously optimistic that we are going to get there.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is involved in the bipartisan Senate talks, agreed, saying, “The briefing, I think, will accelerate the bipartisan sanctions package.”

Despite the closeness of a deal, differences remained among negotiators on the appropriate triggers for sanctions and when and how to penalize those developing the controversial, but as-yet-inoperable Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a project that would bypass Ukraine, taking with it crucial revenue.

“I am hopeful in the next coming days we can introduce a sanctions package that imposes sanctions now for the (Russian) provocation with post-invasion sanctions that will destroy the Russian economy as we know it,” said Graham, who like many Republicans after the briefing, said he thought a Russian invasion of Ukraine was now a matter of “when” not “if.”

Some Democrats and the Biden administration want to hold back sanctions, arguing that they are more powerful as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

“Deterrence is the idea that if you do X, we will do Y. If you put penalties in place in advance, at least significant penalties, you obviously take away the stick of deterrence,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

“I think it’s very important that (the) United States put a very strong sanctions package in place,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told CNN, adding that any sanctions need to be announced in advance “to have a deterrent effect.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said sanctions against Russia must be “much more forceful than they have been” but also insisted that any sanctions be imposed after an invasion.

“I think it’s really important for us to use the sanctions if the Russians strike,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Thursday. “It is important because it’s where leverage is at maximum. If they do this, then we strike.”

Pelosi said that thinking is also in line with most U.S. allies.

“This is deadly serious,” Pelosi said. “So, they have to feel the pain, and it has to be felt right up to the richest man in the world: Vladimir Putin. Nobody knows what he’s going to do except for him.”

Indeed, lawmakers have said the legislation, a bill Menendez said puts in place “the mother of all sanctions,” would contain a strong recommendation that Russia be kicked out of the global financial consortium known as SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. Based in Belgium, it connects more than 11,000 financial institutions and is used as a messaging platform for the transfer of funds around the world.

If that recommendation is included in the bill, the Biden administration would still have to take action to have Russia removed, an extreme action lawmakers have said is on the table.

The White House confirmed Thursday that it is in close consultation with senators but stopped short of endorsing any deal.

“We are in very close touch with members of Congress about this legislation, which I don’t think has been formally even proposed yet,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters en route to New York aboard Air Force One. “So we are in close contact and in conversations with them.”

Psaki, however, continued to express the administration’s support for post-invasion sanctions, saying that the “deterrent” approach of “the crippling economic sanctions package” and noting that the impact is already being felt in the Russian financial markets.

Still, a number of Democrats were moving closer to the GOP position that pre-invasion sanctions were a must even if the most serious sanctions are reserved in the event of an invasion.

“I think Putin and Putin’s Russia have already committed sufficient aggression against Ukraine justifying some sanctions,” said top Biden ally Chris Coons, D-Del. “I think we should hold back the most aggressive and most punishing sanctions for now as a deterrent because the whole goal here is to keep open some space for diplomacy and to deter aggression.”

Menendez and Risch have been briefing members of their panel this week. One member — Mitt Romney, R-Utah — told ABC News he met with Risch on Wednesday night and the smaller group negotiating the package is “making good progress.”

The legislation would include a measure authored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., modeled on the World War II-era “lend-lease” program, which would use existing presidential authorities to allow the administration to provide lethal military equipment to Ukraine to protect the population from a Russian invasion.

Members hope to move any sanctions deal — which, according to two aides involved in the matter, is still in the legislative drafting stage — to the Senate floor quickly, and Sen Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who recently returned from Ukraine and is part of the talks, told ABC News he had spoken earlier in the week with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who committed to bringing any bipartisan deal to the floor for a vote quickly.

And after Thursday’s high-level briefing, it is clear that members are ready to act swiftly.

Coons said he’s “very” concerned about the situation on the ground in and around Ukraine, adding, “It’s really hard to listen to all of that and not conclude that we need to do more.”

ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

Starbucks expects price increases, citing inflation, COVID pay and staffing costs

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Starbucks will continue to raise prices in 2022 due to a combination of labor costs and supply chain disruptions.

The Seattle-based coffee giant announced Tuesday that between a rising cost of goods, employee pay amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, all paired with customer demand, the company has reevaluated its pricing strategy.

Starbucks executives said that more price increases are coming after it first raised them in October 2021 and again in January 2022.

“We have already taken pricing actions this fiscal year, one in October of 2021, and another in January of 2022, and we have additional pricing actions planned through the balance of this year, which play an important role to mitigate cost pressures, including inflation, as we position our business for the future,” CEO Kevin Johnson said on the company’s first quarter earnings call earlier this week.

“There are many factors that contribute to our thoughtful pricing strategy, including: The increasing US inflation rate currently running at 7% or perhaps greater, as well as wage, customer demand and other costs,” he explained.

Starbucks reported a 31% profit increase during the last three months of 2021 with a total of $816 million on the quarterly earnings report. The coffee chain’s revenue which has grown to $8.1 billion boasted an overall 19% increase compared to the same quarter the year prior.

“The rapid spread of Omicron through the US required us to quickly adapt store protocols,” Johnson continued. “Our COVID vaccination pay has supported thousands of partners in the broader efforts in helping get more people vaccinated. And with the highly transmissible Omicron variant, we had more partners leverage our COVID isolation benefits as they were either home sick or home isolating after being exposed to the virus, which led to significantly higher COVID-related benefits pay than expected.”

Hours after the earnings announcement, the New York Times reported that Starbucks shares “fell as much as 5% in after-hours trading.”

Dakota Johnson reportedly getting into the superhero business with Sony’s ‘Madame Web’

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson is reportedly attached to a Spider-Man universe movie called Madame Web for Sony Pictures.

Deadline reports the actress will play the title character, first introduced in the pages of Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man #210 in 1980.

However, despite the character’s name, she’s not a female Spider-Man — instead, Cassandra Webb was actually a mutant with psychic and other abilities, whose incredibly powerful mind was trapped in a body confined to a hospital bed, thanks to the degenerative neuromuscular condition myasthenia gravis.

Blind and enfeebled, Cassandra Webb’s physical form is kept alive thanks to a life support system that featured enough tubes to resemble a spider’s web — so it’s likely that the character will be reworked to better fit the 32-year-old actress.

Then again, comics being comics, one issue explored Webb being magically cured of her disease and reborn younger; another run saw the Madame Webb powers and mantle being passed to a younger heroine altogether, Julia Carpenter.

S.J. Johnson, the executive producer and lead director of Netflix’s acclaimed Marvel series Jessica Jones, is calling the shots on the film.

Incidentally, Deadline didn’t mention Disney-owned Marvel Studios in its story, which could mean Sony Pictures is undertaking the project without being attached to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as its hit Venom movies were…until only recently.

Sony’s last Spidey film, Spider-Man: No Way Home — which was a co-production with Marvel Studios — has made $1.7 billion worldwide.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

Samuel L. Jackson to receive Chairman’s Award at NAACP Image Awards, Spike Lee directing Colin Kaepernick docuseries, and more

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Samuel L. Jackson will receive the Chairman’s Award during the 53rd NAACP Image Awards.

The honor recognizes individuals who demonstrate exemplary public service and use their distinct platforms to create agents of change. Past honorees include the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis, Danny Glover, Tyler Perry, and Barack Obama.

As previously reported, Jennifer Hudson, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, Regina King and Tiffany Haddish are the nominees for Entertainer of the Year. The 53rd NAACP Image Awards, hosted by seven-time NAACP Image Awards winner Anthony Anderson, airs Saturday, February 26 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on BET.

In other news, Spike Lee announced that he will direct and produce an ESPN docuseries about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Colin played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers, and in 2013, led the team to the Super Bowl, where they lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens. During the 2016 season, he ignited a national controversy when he knelt during the National Anthem to protest racial injustice. The series will explore his life, including his eventual release after that season and blackballing from the league.

Finally, Issa Rae is inviting fans to stay at her Airbnb during Super Bowl weekend, February 12-14, in Los Angeles. For only $56 a night, guests can visit the landmarks popularized by her series, Insecure.

“Since my series debuted in 2016, it’s been an honor to showcase the people, culture and businesses that make South LA such a vibrant part of the city,” Issa explained in a statement. “I became an Airbnb host to create a stay where fans of the show can experience this for themselves. From dinner by Worldwide Tacos on game day, to art from my favorite local artists on the walls – this is LA, my way.”

‘Presumed Innocent’ gets the series treatment at Apple TV+

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Presumed Innocent, the Scott Turow legal thriller that became the hit 1990 film starring Harrison Ford, the late Raul Julia, and Bonnie Bedelia, is becoming a series for Apple TV+.

The new limited series will be produced by The Practice and Boston Legal‘s David E. Kelley, along with J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production house.

The series, like the book, will center on a Chicago prosecutor who is accused of the murder of a colleague, with whom he’s having a torrid affair. Greta Scacchi played the “other woman” and victim, and Die Hard‘s Bedelia played the wife of Ford’s character, who struggles to clear his name against all odds.

According to producers Warner Bros. Television and Apple TV+, the series will be, “exploring obsession, sex, politics, and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Since the original film hinged on a major twist that most know by now — the prosecutor’s seemingly meek wife did it — it’s not known how the series will deviate from Turow’s bestseller.

Rod Stewart to tour North America this summer: “It’s really gonna be fun!”

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Rod Stewart has announced that he’s hitting the road this summer for a series of shows in the U.S. and Canada, with special guests Cheap Trick.

In a video, Rod reveals that the tour will run from June through September and adds, “I really want you to come out, because we’ve had a bad time lately, and it’s really gonna be fun!”

At the moment, however, Rod’s website only reveals tour dates starting July 1 in Fort Worth, TX and wrapping September 3 in Tampa, Florida, but more dates will likely follow.

From May 13 to May 21, Rod is performing at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and he’ll return for a second round of shows there on September 23.

Rod’s most recent album, The Tears of Hercules, came out in November.

Chicago bracing for protests over release of former cop convicted of murder in Laquan McDonald shooting

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(CHICAGO) — Chicago is bracing for massive protests over the prison release of former city police officer Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of murder in the 2014 line-of-duty shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

The 43-year-old Van Dyke was let go from the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections Thursday morning, sources told ABC Chicago station WLS. His release came after he served half of a six-year, nine-month sentence he was given in 2019.

In anticipation of Van Dyke’s release, Chicago police and city officials met with business leaders on Wednesday for a security briefing and Mayor Lori Lightfoot attempted to allay fears in a statement she issued Thursday morning.

“I understand why this continues to feel like a miscarriage of justice, especially when many Black and brown men get sentenced to so much more prison time for having committed far lesser crimes,” Lightfoot said. “It’s these distortions in the criminal justice system, historically, that have made it so hard to build trust.”

Lightfoot noted that Van Dyke was the first Chicago police officer in more than a half century to be convicted of a crime committed in the line of duty.

“While I know this moment is disappointing, it should not prevent us from seeing the significant progress Van Dyke’s prosecution and conviction represent,” she said.

Demonstrators are expected to gather Thursday afternoon at Federal Plaza in Chicago in hopes of delivering a letter to U.S. Attorney John Lausch requesting federal civil rights charges be brought against Van Dyke.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and members of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, are expected to join Black Lives Matter Chicago protesters and Father Michael Pfleger, the Catholic priest and Chicago activist, at Thursday’s protest.

More demonstrations are being planned for Friday, officials said.

On Tuesday, Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats from Illinois, issued a joint letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting a briefing on a federal investigation into the McDonald murder case. The senators said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois has refused to say whether the federal investigation launched in April 2015 was still ongoing or closed.

McDonald was killed on Oct. 20, 2014. Police dashcam video of the shooting played at Van Dyke’s trial showed McDonald was armed with a knife but did not appear to be moving toward the police officers following him when Van Dyke responded and opened fire on the teen 16 times in a span of 15 seconds.

Van Dyke testified at his 2018 trial that he believed McDonald was coming at him with a knife. An autopsy showed McDonald had a small amount of the hallucinogenic drug PCP in his system when he died.

The Cook County Circuit Court jury found Van Dyke guilty on charges of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, one for each shot he fired at McDonald.

Four Chicago police officers were subsequently fired over their alleged cover-up of McDonald’s killing after an investigation found they made false statements to investigators about the shooting.

Van Dyke was initially sent to a state prison to serve his sentence, but after he was beaten by fellow inmates in his cell he was transferred to a federal prison in 2019.

Black History Month: Paley Center pays tribute to Sidney Poitier, Joe Morton hosts Inside the Black Box, and more

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

In celebration of Black History Month, The Paley Center for Media in New York City is hosting its “Salute to Black Achievements in Television” from Saturday, February 5 to Sunday, February 27. The television work of the late Sidney Poitier will be spotlighted, along with classic episodes of Soul Train, Soul! and The Wire. The 50th anniversary of the premiere of Sanford and Son, starring Redd Foxx, will also be featured

A gallery exhibit of milestones in Black television will include original costumes from black-ish, Queen Sugar, Saturday Night Live, and All American.

On Thursday, February 17, the new ABC-TV series The Wonder Years will be explored in a virtual event starring executive producer Lee Daniels and the cast members, including Dulé Hill.

In other news, Joe Morton and director/producer Tracey Moore are hosting the 10-episode series Inside the Black Box premiering February 17 on the Crackle streaming service. The show will spotlight actors, producers, directors, writers, and musicians of color. Phylicia Rashad and Raven-Symone are among the stars that will be interviewed.

“Inside the Black Box is a space that reigns with pride; a safe haven where artists of color can learn from their ancestry, exchange ideas, celebrate their history, and grow, within the here and now,” said Morton, who currently stars in the new Fox series, Our Kind of People.

Finally, AXS TV is celebrating Black History Month throughout February with tributes to legendary music stars, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Chuck Berry, and Patti LaBelle. In addition to daily Black History Month programming, AXS will also present a special, all day, “Saturday Stack” on February 19 featuring specials dedicated to Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye, Tupac Shakur, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj, and Anderson .Paak.

Free speech concerns for Olympic athletes voiced after China warns of ‘punishment’

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Human rights groups and U.S. officials are concerned about the safety of Olympic athletes in China if they speak out on political issues at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing following a warning from a Chinese official about “punishment” for competitors should they do so.

Yang Shu, the deputy director of international relations for the Beijing organizing committee, said any speech against the Olympic spirit or Chinese laws would be “subject to certain punishment” during a press conference on Jan. 18. Shu did nothing to ease concerns at a press conference on Tuesday, saying that International Olympic Committee Rule 50 does include some speech regulations.

“At the medal ceremonies, they cannot make their opinions but in press conferences or interviews, athletes are free to express their opinions,” Shu said Tuesday. “But athletes need to be responsible for what they say.”

Shu’s comments spurred human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and U.S. officials to warn athletes about speaking out and to call on the IOC to guarantee freedom of speech at the Games.

“Athletes are also being obliged to compete in this environment by an International Olympic Committee, that … seems completely unwilling or unable to actually follow through on those obligations,” Sophie Richardson, the China director at Human Rights Watch, said in an interview with ABC News.

In response to the comments during Yang’s press conference, a group of representatives from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Chairman Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., released a statement calling on the IOC to “immediately clarify that free speech by athletes is absolutely guaranteed at the Olympics.”

When reached for comment about free speech at the Olympics, the IOC told ABC News Thursday that “the Games are governed by the IOC Rules. They will be applied at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 like at any other edition of the Games before.”

Despite the concern expressed by some about possible repercussions if athletes speak out, Carl Minzner, a senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, doesn’t see a high chance of the Chinese government taking strong action.

“It’s hard for me to imagine Beijing doing something really extreme, such as actually detaining or imprisoning a foreign athlete … Doing so would likely just generate more unwanted attention,” Minzner said in an interview with ABC News.

Some lawmakers in the U.S. aren’t counting on the Chinese to hang back. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a hearing Thursday on the Beijing Olympics with panelists who work to address human rights issues in China and protect those affected.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, released a letter on Jan. 31 asking the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee what their plans were for protecting athletes, highlighting freedom of expression concerns and data privacy worries.

“We write with urgency about the safety and protection of U.S. athletes who are headed to Beijing, China, especially given the recent statement by a Chinese official about ‘punishment’ of athletes who exercise freedom of expression,” their letter said. “We share with you our concerns on the risks to freedom of expression, data privacy and exposure to products made by forced labor.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., held a press conference on Jan. 24 to discuss human rights abuses in China and the need for increased security measures for American athletes.

“I can’t tell you how worried I am about the athletes competing in Beijing. Look at what communist China did to silence and disappear, silence and disappear, Peng Shuai,” Scott said.

Enes (Kanter) Freedom, the NBA player who has called for athletes to boycott the Olympics in recent weeks, joined the Senator by phone.

Peng Shuai, a Chinese tennis player, went absent from public view last November after accusing former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of coercing her into having sex in a since-deleted post on the Chinese social media app, Weibo.

Two weeks later, Peng appeared in a video where she denied having been sexually assaulted, a move the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) called “insufficient” in verifying Peng’s safety. Following the incident, the WTA announced a suspension on all events in China, citing “serious doubts that she [Peng] is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation.”

In a press conference on Feb. 3, IOC President Thomas Bach indicated that a meeting with Peng would occur when COVID protocols allow it to happen.

“I am very happy and very grateful to Peng Shuai. She will enter the closed-loop to have the meeting that she also wants,” he said.

Although there were no known incidents of athletes facing repercussions from the Chinese government when the Olympics took place in the same host city 14 years ago, the role athletes play in the broader political discussion and how they use their platform has changed significantly since 2008, according to Richardson.

“We didn’t have Colin Kaepernick, we didn’t have, you know, [tennis star] Andy Murray saying he’s not gonna go compete in Saudi, it’s a different ballgame,” Richardson said.

Free speech has been a subject of controversy in China in recent years as freedom of expression and press have come into question. Article 35 in the Chinese Constitution states that “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China shall enjoy freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, procession and demonstration.”

Regardless, political comments deemed inappropriate have been addressed inconsistently, experts said.

“If people say or publish views or otherwise express views that authorities don’t like, they are subject to prosecution under a variety of broad laws that are often arbitrarily interpreted, “said Richardson.

The Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics in December over China’s record on human rights, particularly its treatment of ethnic Uyghurs, which the United States has previously declared a genocide. The decision will prevent United States government officials from attending any events in Beijing, but will not impact the participation of any American athletes.

The 2022 Winter Olympics will take place from Feb. 4 – 20. The American Olympic team has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

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