A longtime member of the International Olympic Committee has insisted there was nothing ‘sinister’ about the alleged use of a translator during a recent video with tennis player Peng Shuai.
The IOC is the only international body who has been able to speak with the tennis player since she accused a former government official of sexual assault in a Weibo post published on November 2nd. The post was removed within an hour of publication and restrictions are currently in place on Shuai’s account. The WTA has voiced concerns that Shuai is currently being censored by the authorities and has threatened to stop doing business with China should they not guarantee her safety.
In a recent 30-minute video call with IOC president Thomas Bach and two other officials, the governing body said they were satisfied that the two-time Grand Slam champion is safe. Although they didn’t post any clips of their video or mention the allegations in their press release. Prompting allegations from some that they are reluctant to intervene in the matter with China hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Some questions have also been raised over the reported use of a translator during the IOC’s video with Shuai even though she has conducted numerous press conferences in English. Dick Pound, who is a member of the IOC, said he believes there is nothing suspicious about the use of a translator for anyone who doesn’t speak English as their first language. Although the Canadian hasn’t seen the video himself.
“IOC members have not heard the programme (of the video call). I think in anything that could be potentially as serious as sexual harassment claim. Anybody who is not speaking in their first language would probably want to have somebody there who can help in the event that their personal vocabulary was not up to the complexity of the subject. I don’t see anything sinister about that,” Pound told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday.
Pound is a member-at-large on the Olympic Committee and does not sit on their executive board. He says that his organisation is ‘satisfied’ about Peng’s safety as he brushed aside concerns raised by the WTA. The governing body of women’s tennis has tried to contact their player on numerous occasions. The WTA confirmed they have received two purported emails from Shuai but suspect they were written under the influence of others.
“They were all satisfied with the content, the atmosphere and all of that about the conversation. So I would prefer to rely on the people who had the actual contact and not those who tried to contact her.” Pound commented.
As for the allegations that the IOC is backing the claims made by China about Shuai’s safety in order to avoid confrontation, the official branded those remarks as ‘silly.’ Although the organisation has previously been reluctant to interfere in the affairs of another country if the matter isn’t related to the Olympics. In October IOC Vice President John Coates told reporters that challenging China over their human rights record is not within their remit.
“Frankly, I think that’s a little silly and it’s not supported by the evidence,” Pound said in response to those allegations.
“All kinds of people were trying to get in touch with her to make sure that she was alive and healthy and not in captivity,” he added. “The only organization in the world that’s been able to establish that is the IOC. I thought it was a very good start and everyone should be reassured she’s fine.”
Shuai hasn’t spoken in public since making her allegations.
