I published an op-ed in the Daily Mail today about the International Olympic Committee’s use of intimidation to silence athletes and use them as political pawns. You can find the piece here. (For the record, I did not choose the headline!)

I published an op-ed in the Daily Mail today about the International Olympic Committee’s use of intimidation to silence athletes and use them as political pawns. You can find the piece here. (For the record, I did not choose the headline!)
CLICK HERE TO ATTEND OR SET A REMINDER FOR THE EVENT
Join me tomorrow morning, February 2nd, at 9am EST for a Politico live event on Twitter Spaces! We’ll be discussing the human rights abuses surrounding the Beijing Olympics, the U.S. Government’s diplomatic boycott, the challenges these particular Games pose to athletes, and the International Olympic Committee’s abdication of responsibility to care for athletes. You can find more details and set a reminder for the event here. Hope to see you tomorrow!
Date/Time: 9AM-10AM ET WED, FEB 2.
Event Title: Beijing Olympics: Competition, Controversy and Covid.
Participants:
It has been almost two months since Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai accused a high-level Communist Party official of sexual assault on social media. Within 20 minutes, Peng’s post was taken down and she disappeared from public life. She was also wiped off the internet in China and terms such as ‘tennis’ and the surname ‘Peng’ were censored on the Chinese internet. Since Peng’s disappearance, her multiple staged reappearances have only deepened concerns for her safety and freedom.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has worked with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to kill the story of Peng’s allegations and disappearance The IOC has shown a complete disregard for sexual assault allegations by a female athlete and for the safety and freedom of a three-time Olympian. They have put their business interests and the Beijing Olympics ahead of Peng’s liberty and well-being.
For the Global Athlete podcast I spoke to human rights activist Peter Dahlin about why the IOC’s actions are so problematic. We spoke about…
You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or by searching for ‘Global Athlete’ wherever you listen to podcasts. Some memorable quotes from the conversation are below.
I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov for the latest episode of the Global Athlete podcast. It was a unique experience. The logistics of the interview were challenging and there were many layers of approval that had to be attained before and after the conversation took place.
Dr. Rodchenkov gave valuable insight into what he called “the Russia problem” in international sport. He talked about the near impossibility of athletes proving their innocence once they are accused of a doping rule violation, and he discussed whether Russian athletes have the option not to dope.
Search for “Global Athlete” wherever you get your podcasts.
I am hosting a brand new podcast from Global Athlete, and the first episode dropped today, June 15th! You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Sounder.fm, or by searching for ‘Global Athlete’ wherever you listen to podcasts. Or you can simply press play at the bottom of this post!
The podcast features in-depth conversations about international sport governance, athlete rights, and the future of the Olympic and Paralympic games. New episodes will drop weekly on Tuesdays.
The first episode, out today, gives an overview and history of international sport governance. I spoke with Professor Jules Boykoff of Pacific University about how athletes fit into the Olympic story, the IOC’s governance structure, how the United Nations addresses the democracy deficit of the IOC, and more.
As always, I value your feedback, suggestions, and criticisms. You can reach our whole podcast team at hello@globalathlete.org or me personally at noah@noahhoffman.com.
I hope you enjoy the podcast!
I sat down yesterday for a long interview with Toko US brand manager Ian Harvey. We discussed my ski career, my time at Brown, and my work for USADA and Global Athlete. You can find it in video form below or in your favorite podcast app by searching “Interviews with Top US Nordic Ski Athletes and Personalities”.
THE RODCHENKOV ANTI-DOPING ACT IS LAW!
The U.S. has now criminalized international doping conspiracies.
This is the most meaningful step yet in preventing doping atrocities like the ones carried out by Russia at Sochi 2014.
Athletes are now eligible for restitution when they are defrauded by dopers.
Doping whistleblowers like Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov are now eligible for U.S. Witness Protection.
Celebrate clean sport!
***
Around 7:30pm Eastern Time today, December 4th, the President signed the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. The bill had unanimously passed both houses of Congress.
The passage of this bill is the culmination of a 3-year effort to create meaningful change in the global anti-doping landscape. The effort was led by Paul Massaro at the U.S. Helsinki Commission. It would not have passed without the work of Travis Tygart and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency staff, Julia Pacetti, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov and his lawyer Jim Walden, Rob Koehler and the team at Global Athlete, Bryan Fogel and the Icarus team, Jim Swartz and the team at FairSport, Han Xiao and Bree Schaaf at the USOPC Athletes’ Advisory Council, and numerous athletes and athlete groups across the country. Katie Uhlaender, in particular, worked to build momentum for the bill. Finally, Yuliya Stepanova and her husband Vitaly exposed the depth of institutional doping in Russia at great personal risk. The clean sport community is indebted to them.
Special thanks as well to Jessie Diggins, Molly Huddle, and Brittney Reese for working with me to show athlete support for this critical piece of legislation.
First, I published this rebuttal today in The Province (a B.C. newspaper) of an article published last week (also in The Province) attacking the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. The attack, filled with spin and misinformation, is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) effort to undermine the legislation. I hope my response will help clear up any confusion caused by WADA’s campaign. Please call your Senators to express your support for the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act. We need the power of federal law enforcement in the fight for clean sport to counter systematic state-sponsored doping fraud.
Second, I recorded this conversation a few weeks ago with my friend and former coach Zach Caldwell:
It’s long and wide-ranging. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire hour and twenty minutes (understandable), I recommend starting at 1:03:20 when the conversation turns to the ways the Olympic Solidarity model has failed athletes. In the conversation I reference this study done by Ryerson University, in partnership with Global Athlete, that found that only 4.1% of total revenue in the Olympic movement goes to athletes.
I had the distinct honor of talking to Olympic Champion and track and field icon Edwin Moses about creating change in global sport as part of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s Voices of Clean Sport series. Check out a seven minute edit of the conversation here.
On Monday I recorded a conversation with Rachel Perkins of FasterSkier.com about anti-doping during the pandemic, my work with US Anti-Doping and Global Athlete, and my experience in school during the pandemic.
You can listen on FasterSkier’s website here or by searching for Nordic Nation wherever you get your podcasts.
Enjoy! And as always, I appreciate your feedback. You can reach me at the email address on the Contact page.