The Chinese government's decision to have an Uyghur athlete help light the Olympic cauldron was an attempt to "distract" from the government's human rights abuses, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
Why it matters: The U.S., as well as several foreign parliaments, have recognized the Chinese government's campaign of mass detention, surveillance, forced labor and forced sterilization against ethnic minorities in Xinjiang as genocide.
An International Olympic Committee official vowed on Sunday to improve the living conditions in quarantine hotels at the Beijing Winter Olympics following multiple complaints, the Washington Post reported.
Why it matters: Olympians quarantining at the hotels after testing positive for COVID-19 have complained of not getting enough food, poor quality food and "unreasonable" living conditions.
The NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching jobs, was embraced far outside the league after being instituted in 2003.
Why it matters: The rule is frequently criticized as a sham, and a lawsuit filed against the NFL on Tuesday by former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores says the same — with explosive details to bolster the claim.
Friday‘s Winter Olympicsopening ceremony drew nearly 14 million viewers on television, making it one of the least-viewed opening ceremonies on TV in Olympic history, according to numbers provided by NBC Sports.
Why it matters: This year’s Games, like the summer Games in Tokyo last year, are being impacted by a lack of fans and loved ones in stadiums that normally contribute to the excitement of watching the games live.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that diversity among the league's head coaches has been "unacceptable" despite the policies and programs put in place to enact change, according to a league-wide memo he sent and was obtained by ESPN.
Athletes and attendees of the Beijing Winter Olympics face strict COVID-19 protocols, including regular testing and staying in a "closed-loop system," to prevent spread of the virus.
Why it matters: The Beijing bubble, meant to shut off the outside world entirely, is the strictest ever created for a global sporting event, Axios' Jeff Tracy reports.
Driving the news: Athletes and officials comprise 25 of the cases, which includes 20 cases that were detected in individuals arriving at the Beijing airport. Five additional cases were detected in PCR tests from people already at the Games.
Driving the news: Athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Games and are isolating in quarantine hotels complain of not enough food, poor quality of food and "unreasonable" living conditions, among other things.
Three-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor said Saturday that she is cleared to compete in the Beijing Olympics after recovering from COVID-19.
Driving the news: "This Games has turned out to be one of the most challenging ones I've ever competed in, and I just want to show him that his mother never gave up," Meyers Taylor said Saturday morning during an interview with the "Today" show, talking about what she hopes to teach her son at the Olympics.
