Anthony Famigilietti, a New York-area elite runner who qualified for the Olympics with his impressive victory in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in Oregon last week, seriously considered boycotting the games next month as a protest against China's record of human rights abuses and the country's policies regarding Tibet.

But after some thought, and no doubt some degree of temptation, Famiglietti decided to go ahead and compete. In the end, he told the press, it's not China as a whole we should blame, but the Chinese government.

This is an important statement, and one many others would be wise to repeat when protesting China.

In 1980, when the US government boycotted the Olympic games in Moscow, America's best athletes were denied the chance of a lifetime -- to compete against the best from other nations around the world. And to participate in a tradition that historically has set politics aside to embrace the purity of sport.

Famiglietti contends that we should indeed protest China's government, but not its people or its rich cultural history.

And more power to him if he achieves Olympic glory to boot.

[Image Credit: Xiaowei on Wikimedia Creative Commons]