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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hoff would raise huff

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

NEW YORK – Katie Hoff is quite the blogger, posting periodic updates about her life and travels on a swimming Web site. The Olympic hopeful is pledging to riff about whatever strikes her in Beijing – even if it has political implications.

“I like to stay pretty honest in my blogs,” she said Thursday. “If I saw something that struck me as strange I would probably write about it, but I’m not planning on having that happen.”

China is facing more criticism about its human rights record with the games just six months away. Hollywood director Steven Spielberg decided this month to drop out as a Beijing Olympics adviser, saying he felt China wasn’t doing enough to pressure Sudan into ending the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region. A Dutch lawmaker has called for an international boycott of the opening ceremony to protest China’s human rights history.

This year also is the 40th anniversary of one of the most memorable displays of political expression at the Olympics. At the 1968 Mexico City Games, U.S. track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists to decry racial discrimination at home.

“I think what they did was really bold,” 22-year-old track star Allyson Felix said, “and it definitely should be commended because the time was such in turmoil and what they did, it was so moving and such a big deal then.”

Felix said it’s up to the individual to decide whether to speak out.

“I feel like if you feel passionate about something then you should definitely take a stand on it but to recognize kind of where you do that,” she said. “There’s a time and a place for everything.”

Some Olympic committees and officials in Europe are trying to muzzle athletes from speaking out about sensitive issues in Beijing, but some of America’s top medal contenders say they haven’t received any such pressure from the USOC.

Not that many of them are interested in weighing in on communist China, anyway.

“I’m looking forward to going over there and competing and representing my country the best way I can,” said swimmer Michael Phelps, who will try again to break Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of seven gold medals. “That’s what my mind is on right now. That’s what I’m focused on.”

International Olympic Committee rules state “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues, or other areas.” The USOC has asked its athletes to comply with Olympic rules, and said no extra measures would be imposed.

“If I have an opinion about things I definitely won’t shy away from offering it up, but I want to make sure always that I have information and facts to back up my opinion,” said soccer midfielder Aly Wagner, one of several American athletes at a Manhattan hotel Thursday for a Visa promotional appearance.