IOC major sponsors mostly muted in runup to Beijing Olympics

By STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer

The Beijing Winter Olympics are fraught with potential hazards for major sponsors. They are trying to remain quiet about China’s human rights record while protecting the billions they’ve collectively paid to the IOC for the branding rights. The International Olympic Committee’s top sponsors include household names like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Visa, Toyota, Panasonic, and Airbnb. The IOC’s so-called TOP sponsors are being squeezed by a diplomatic boycott led by the United States, the economic power of 1.4 billion Chinese — and the fear of retaliation by China’s authoritarian government, which has slammed the limited boycott. China, itself, was part of a full-fledged boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.