GET A LODHA THIS: Using Sports To Stop Genocide

Last winter, speedskater Joey Cheek was on top of the world.

Years of training had finally paid off, as Cheek picked up two medals at the Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. And after he donated his winnings to Right to Play, an organization that uses sports as a tool for the development of children in disadvantaged areas, Cheek’s teammates picked him as the flag-bearer for the Games’ closing ceremony.

Sure, he didn’t get into Harvard, but he was at the pinnacle of his career and, briefly, at the center of American sports attention as well.

But Cheek’s greatest moments were yet to come.

His actions in Turin were the beginning of a sincere and arduous advocacy, as Cheek has become a vocal spokesperson against the genocide in Darfur. Since returning from Italy, Cheek has been traveling around the country and across the globe, trying to use what fame he has achieved as a means of spreading awareness about the atrocious policies of the Khartoum government.

“The three months after the Olympics was just a crush of activity, so I was literally in four or five cities a week, every week, for three months,” he says. “You take every media [request], you take every speaking engagement, you take any chance to meet with anyone you can, because you have such a limited lifespan—such a limited shelf life.”

After the Games, Cheek went on a college tour, traveling to campuses to create awareness about Darfur. He became a regularly requested keynote speaker, appearing at forums and conferences in cities like Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. And he continued to serve as a spokesperson for Right to Play and traveled to Zambia in the summer, with Jim Caple and an ESPN camera crew tagging along.

“[ESPN was] interested only because Jenny Thompson and I, who were two Olympic athletes, were going to Africa to see this program,” Cheek says. “But if that’s what it takes to reach a market that would otherwise never be exposed to this, then great.”

Cheek’s work did not go unnoticed. His hometown of Greensboro declared March 23 “Joey Cheek Day” in honor of his accomplishments. MTV contacted Cheek about creating a show that would center on his life at Princeton when he enrolled as a freshman. And to top it all off, in April, Cheek was declared a member of “The TIME 100,” TIME’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

But Cheek’s most important project was yet to come.

At the recent summit of the Clinton Global Initiative in Washington, D.C., Cheek announced that he would be putting together a different kind of organization to promote Darfur awareness. Preliminarily titled “Where Will We Be,” the coalition will consist of a group of very famous international athletes from different continents. These athletes will travel together through Darfur and Sudan, filming their journey and formulating their own opinions about the situation they encounter.

Cheek’s hope is that an international athlete coalition will appeal to viewers around the world, spreading awareness and potentially creating a higher level of international pressure on the Khartoum government to stop the killing.

“It’s not just, ‘Americans say this right, so do it,’ but rather, it’s a worldwide group of athletes,” he explains. “Still, you want it to be as non-political as possible and let people draw their own conclusions. I think that the crisis over there is bad enough that if people see the facts, then they will draw the same conclusions I have.”

Cheek is interested in different kinds of athletes—a European soccer player, an Indian cricketer—but he is especially pushing hard to get Chinese athletes on board. Given China’s close ties to the Sudanese government, he hopes that the work of “Where Will We Be” can turn the spotlight on Beijing when it hosts the Summer Games in 2008.

“The Olympics are China’s chance to stand on center stage and say, ‘This is what we believe in,’” Cheek says. “Maybe we can show them this is their chance to take a stand, make a difference, and be applauded by the world.”

Of course, the logistical issues are many, a fact that Cheek is well aware of. He is devoting several months to the cause, and he plans on making a preparatory trip to Darfur in November. Given the travel ban for Americans, Cheek will have to fly to Chad and traverse the Sudanese border by land, enlisting the aid of the International Red Cross.

Still, Cheek is determined. Though he realizes that he is “a relative newcomer to the issue,” he realizes the impact celebrities can have, especially on teenagers and college students.

“It’s absolutely absurd that people should hear anything about Africa from a speedskater and an actor,” Cheek exclaims, referring to a recent conversation with George Clooney. “But it may be easier for someone like myself to appeal to certain parts of the population.”

There are times when mass murder calls for the cessation of sports, as was witnessed by the temporary suspension of American professional sports leagues after the September 11 attacks.

But there are also times when sports may be an appropriate vehicle for condemning mass murder. If “Where Will We Be” can be successful, it may finally put enough pressure on China and empower the Security Council to take decisive action in Darfur.

It’s a long journey, but Cheek is on the right path.

“I’m proud that so many people took up the call to help and to donate money and to be aware of my cause at the Olympics,” Cheek says. “However, ultimately, the situation in Darfur hasn’t changed; in fact, it’s gotten worse. So I am not successful—I have not become successful in that goal.”

As Cheek realizes, his greatest success is yet to come.

To learn more about advocating for Darfur at Harvard, visit the website of the Harvard Darfur Action Group at http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hdag/.

—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.