- NBC sports anchor Mike Tirico opened the network's Olympics coverage with a bang.
- Tirico cut right to mentioning China's genocide of Uyghur Muslims.
- The sportscaster also plugged an hour-long NBC special on the genocide.
To kick off NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing Thursday night, longtime sportscaster Mike Tirico addressed the elephant in the room.
"Now, the Olympic host city and nation are traditionally celebrated," Tirico said, noting how China has ascended on the world stage in the 14 years since it last hosted an Olympics.
"While that might be the case for some in the world, it is not for many of you watching back home," he continued. "The United States government is not here, a diplomatic boycott announced this fall joined by Canada, Great Britain and Australia citing China's human rights record and the US government's declaration that the Chinese Communist Party is guilty of committing genocide on the Uyghur Muslim population in Western Xinjiang region."
Tirico added that the Chinese government has denied carrying out a genocide, despite abundant evidence of its use of internment camps and coerced labor. China's targeting and intimidation of Uyghurs even extends to the US, as Insider's Alexandra Ma reported in 2019.
Tirico also mentioned China's "escalation of crackdowns on pro-democracy sentiments and protests in Hong Kong," in addition to touting an hour-long special from NBC focusing on the treatment of the Uyghur population.
NBC's $7.75 billion multi-year contract for the exclusive broadcast rights to the games accounts for roughly 40% of the International Olympic Committee's overall revenue.
Tirico eventually pivoted back to the games at hand, which are being played in a COVID-19 bubble far stricter than what athletes experienced in Japan last year for the summer games.
"So the US government isn't here," Tirico said, "but team USA is, with American athletes among those competing in the middle of all this debate and controversy."