. . World News – AU – Fehr expects NHL players to compete in the Beijing Olympics, however. . . . – Florida Sports Talk – N.

The Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association Donald Fehr expects his group to be approved by the owners of the National Hockey League to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics hockey competition in Beijing, China. But Fehr admitted that there could be something that could derail the plan. “Without any very unusual circumstances, I expect us to return to the Olympics. “There are a number of reasons why it makes sense for National Hockey League owners to introduce league players and the hockey game to an audience in China. Number one is money. China is an entirely new market for the National Hockey League. If the NHL markets itself properly and gets a foothold in the country, a lot of money could get in its way. The players want to fight for a gold medal for their home countries. That naturally begs the question of what is more important to Olympic gold or the Stanley Cup. The players will say both.

But there is some very unusual set of circumstances hovering over the Beijing 2022 Olympics. That concern about « very unusual circumstances » is the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also a human rights issue that China and the Uyghurs are involved in. In July 2020, British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab accused China of « gross and monstrous » human rights violations against the Uyghurs. No country is currently planning to boycott the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee ignored charges of human rights violations in the award of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. The IOC Beijing 2022 event is slated to begin in 13 months. Is that enough time to contain and virtually eliminate COVID-19? Nobody knows if Tokyo can host the Summer Olympics. The quotation of the very unusual circumstances is striking. Why? Because COVID-19 remains a significant problem.

Olympic Winter Games 2022, Olympic Winter Games, Beijing