Was watching the Olympics last night when one of the announcers on NBC mentioned a contract issued by the Chinese government to its 2008 Olympics gymnastics coaches. The contract -- again, issued by the Chinese government -- states that the coach will not permit any of his athletes to be injured or test positive for drugs prior to the Games.

(By the way, has anyone else noticed that the NBC announcers, especially in gymnastics, are really going out of their way to be 'awed' by China? They have hometown announcers in football and basketball; why not some partisan announcers in the Olympics as well?)

I've heard of injury waivers before. The Dallas Cowboys, before releasing WR Terry Glenn this offseason, wanted Glenn to sign a $500,000 waiver so that owner Jerry Jones wouldn't be on the hook for paying Glenn a full season salary if he were injured (as in 2007, when Glenn received $5 million for five snaps).

I've even heard of promise rings, or their dancing component, the Promise Ball. You know, those semi-creepy deals where a daughter, under duress from their parents, 'promise' their virginity to their fathers, all the way up through their wedding night. [The lede on Purity Balls in this Glamour article says it best: "it's like a wedding but with a twist] But the penalty of breaking that dubious promise ranges in mildness from Angry Frowning -- which the people who'd have their daughter wear a promise ring have mastered -- to Disowning -- which isn't that bad, because with parents like those, who needs enemies?

The penalties for Chinese coaches who "allow" injuries or drugs to disrail the team haven't been enumerated. You can leave it to your imagination what would happen to such coaches; indeed, imagining "what might be" is supposed to serve as motivation enough to avoid bringing "dishonor" to their country.

In America people who break or refuse promise pacts are cut from the team, frowned upon, or disowned. But they live to tell the tale. Then again, we don't live in a country that executes people for killing panda bears, tax evasion, or embezzling money.

I can't bring myself to cheer for the Chinese, especially in light of China's human rights record. But I do hope that China's gymnastics coaches avoid "dishonoring" their homeland -- that they live to tell the tale regardless of how many or how few medals the heavily-favored gymnasts win in Beijing.

It's still just a game, isn't it?

-- James David Dickson

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

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