Two-time US Olympian says athletes being used as 'pawns' in Beijing: 'Terrible place for them to be'

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Two-time Olympian says athletes are 'distracted,' used as 'pawns' amid controversy surrounding Beijing Winter Olympics

Two-time Olympic cross-country skier Noah Hoffman joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the upcoming games as athletes are warned against speaking out against China's human rights abuses.

Two-time U.S. Olympic cross-country skier Noah Hoffman is warning athletes are "distracted" and being used as "pawns" as the concerns mount over the safety of athletes during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

"Sport is secondary in these Olympics and this is a position they have been put in," Hoffman told "America's Newsroom" hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer. 

"Athletes have no control over where the Olympics are held. Athletes have no control over what kind of conditions are put on host countries. They are just at the mercy of the International Olympic Committee and at the mercy of the host country."

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He continued, "This has been a huge distraction from them, for them, from their sport, and it makes them pawns in this geopolitical fight that, you know, pits human rights against the power of China. It's just a terrible place for athletes to be."

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A Chinese official warned just last week any speech not in line with the "Olympic spirit" could be subject to certain punishment. 

Meanwhile, according to Rule 50 of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), political protest is barred and could also be subject to punishment. 

Protesters hold protest posters during a protest against Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics by activists of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. (Jean-Guy Python/Keystone via AP)

Hoffman, who competed in 2014 in Sochi and in 2018 in Pyeongchang, argued athletes should not speak out against China during the games, saying it's "not worth it" until they return home.

"You have the organizing committee in Beijing threatening to punish any athlete that speaks out against the laws of China," Hoffman said. "Not only that, but the International Olympic Committee is also threatening to punish athletes who speak out…. So you have the two entities that really should be protecting athletes, threatening to punish them."

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"The only answer is to say that athletes should stay silent until they get home, and that's a really horrible place to be," he added.

Several countries are diplomatically boycotting the Beijing Olympics, alongside the United States, over China's record on human rights abuses.

Some of those countries include Canada, Australia, Kosovo, Denmark, and Estonia among others.