Global Athlete Statement in Response to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President and IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Video Call with Peng Shuai

Rolex Dela Pena/EPA

21 November 2021: Today, the IOC showed a complete disregard for allegations of sexual violence and abuse against athletes. By taking a nonchalant approach to Peng Shuai’s disappearance and by refusing to mention her serious allegations of sexual assault, IOC President Thomas Bach and the IOC Athletes’ Commission demonstrate an abhorrent indifference to sexual violence and the well-being of female athletes.

We are relieved that Peng Shuai is alive, but the IOC’s confirmation of a call with the tennis star does not ensure her safety or wellbeing. The IOC’s press release is a harmful attempt to appease both concerned athletes and the Chinese authorities. The release pretends that Peng never made sexual assault allegations and has not been missing for more than two weeks. The statements make the IOC complicit in the Chinese authority’s malicious propaganda and lack of care for basic human rights and justice. Bach extended an invitation to Peng for dinner rather than ensuring her safety, and by doing so he made a mockery of a deadly serious situation that is regrettably all too familiar for many female athletes.

We stand by our 19 November 2021 statement and call for the IOC to immediately suspend the Chinese Olympic Committee until Peng Shuai is given safe passage out of China and a full and transparent investigation is conducted into her allegations of sexual assault.

The IOC’s actions today again demonstrate that the organization fails athletes, aligns with abusive authoritarian regimes, and disregards human rights. Athletes and the international political community must hold the IOC accountable for their actions.