Cheek last made headlines for something that happened off the ice -- the Chinese Embassy revoked his visa shortly before he was set to leave the U.S. for the Beijing Olympics. What prompted China's action was Cheek's involvement in Team Darfur, an organization of international athletes he co-founded to bring awareness to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Cheek's intention -- and he made no secret about it -- was to talk to athletes, the media and the public in Beijing about China's financial support of a government that has brutalized Darfur's people.
Growing up in Angola, Emanuel Neto can remember the gruesome images that had him and his family living in fear. A fear that one day a soldier might force you to cook and eat your own child. It’s these experiences that have Emanuel Neto appreciating the very air he breathes.
Neto, a 23 year-old senior at Stony Brook University, has lived a life that very few college students have, and seen things that most Americans can not even begin to imagine. Neto’s upbringing has made him sensitive towards the war and genocide in Darfur, a situation that a lot of Americans fail to recognize.
“People will only pay attention when something happens and it involves the integrity of American values,” says Neto. “Not enough is done to raise awareness about what is going on.” Neto’s mother had a vision of her child one day studying in the states, playing basketball and using his image to help people. Neto has used his image as a college athlete and member of the Angolan National Basketball team to help raise such awareness.
Because 9 American Team Darfur athletes were listed as such by the Chinese government in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics. Yesterday, USA Today broke the story that:
China's government was so concerned about the possibility of athlete demonstrations in the Beijing Olympics that it created a list of nine U.S. athletes and one assistant coach it thought might cause trouble at the Games, according to an internal U.S. Olympic Committee e-mail obtained by USA TODAY...
The list was given to USOC officials in a July 8 meeting by Shu Xiao, minister counselor for cultural affairs at the Chinese embassy in Washington, according to the e-mail.
You can read the whole e-mail here, but apparently
Dominic Luka is a senior at Norfolk State University where he has excelled in Track and Field. One of the "Lost Boys" Dominic is now the reigning cross-country and 1,500-meter champion in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Dominic has also excelled in the javelin. Dominic is majoring in management information systems and will graduate next December.
We asked Dominic why he joined Team Darfur and this is what he had to say:
It has now been 5 years since the Genocide in Darfur and there is no change happening there. We need a change in Darfur. The reason why I joined Team Darfur was to put my effort and support to help put an end to the Genocide in Darfur. I was always disturbed by the Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir for denying the Darfur Genocide. Reading everyday on the news at www.sudan.net, "The United Nation says up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million fled their homes since the conflict erupted in February 2003. But the Sudanese Government says only 10,000 have been killed."
I thank God for helping me come to the great land of opportunity. I was once like those who are suffering in Darfur. But God help me through and brought me here. I'm pray that one day one time God will do the same miracle to the people of Darfur. He will show them the way and the bright light to a better future.
The Olympic flame was lit in my heart as a teenager when I read a book by Gold medal rower Brad Lewis called "Assault on Lake Cassidas." After starting my quest as a rower, I eventually turned to archery. For the past eleven years the Olympics have defined the decisions I have made, large and small.
The pursuit of excellence has challenged my faith and my commitment to persevere. It has taught me to stick up for myself and then to stand for causes greater than myself. One such cause is Darfur.
Although I have been to two Olympics, Athens and Beijing, it was not in the capacity that I had hoped. In 2004, I was a spectator attending the games so that I might gain valuable experience for my anticipated trip as an athlete four years later. The Olympiad came and went but a tear in my teres minor postponed my dreams yet again. Determined to go to China, I took a job as a journalist.
In Beijing, being a journalist was surprisingly similar to being an athlete. Like an athlete, I had my own uniform and I even lived in a village. I had accreditation and access to restricted areas. But unlike an athlete, I was able to experience the other side of the fence, looking for story angles and seeking out good quotes. Aiming to get things done under deadline was a performance in and of itself.
As it turns out, I didn't know how lucky I was to be in China. Just days earlier, another member of Team Darfur who was supposed to work in a similar position to me had been denied a visa and was forced to stay in the United States. While I was at the Olympics both Joey Cheek and Brad Greiner, the co-founders of Team Darfur, had their visas denied.
No sooner had I arrived than I was told to remove my "Pray for China" wristband and asked not wear my Team Darfur clothes. Having freedom taken away from me for the first time in my life was an eye opener. On July 19th, two days after arriving in Beijing, I wrote in my journal, "I'm glad that my heart is hurting. For the first time since I started learning about Darfur, it matters so much that the violence stops because I don't have the freedom to express it.
Christian Williams is a National level hammer thrower and member of the Australian Men's Lacrosse team. Williams is also a former U19 & U21 Australian team captain. Just recently he was chosen to be a torchbearer for the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay. He has overcome many obstacles as an athlete, but also as a human being, as he has struggled with heart failure and genetic heart disease. Currently, Williams is an athlete, motivational speaker and elementary school teacher.
When asked why he joined Team Darfure, Williams said, "I joined Team Darfur because I believe that all children have the right to dream and make the most of their potential, in all walks of life. It is disturbing that the world sits back to watch the children of Darfur suffer. Instead of living their childhoods, they live in fear, suffer malnutrition and are subject to politically motivated genocide."
"As athletes, we can give these children a voice on a global stage and help make a difference; so that they can live their dreams, just like us."
72 Team Darfur athletes are competing in this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. You can send them messages of support through our Take Action page. We are so proud of all that our athletes have already accomplished. Here are a few of the messages fans have already sent:
"As Olympic athletes and heroes in your respective countries, your actions matter and your voice carries weight. You have the ability to engage and educate people on global issues of vital importance. With your continued leadership, we can finally bring peace to Darfur." - Tim Lynch
Good luck as you compete in Beijing and spread the word about
Darfur. Wishing you the best in both ventures! - Jennifer Fox
"I've been an Olympic groupie for some thirty years and applaud you for your talent, skills, dedication and accomplishments. I hope the games are a wonderful event for you. Thank you for also having a social conscious and for caring about Darfur."
US Olympic team captains voted Lopez Lomong, a Sudanese refugee and Team Darfur athlete, to lead the US Olympic team and carry the US flag at the opening ceremonies. Read the article here.
Lopez was also named Darfur Hero of August by Save Darfur. Read the article here.
Joey Cheek and Team Darfur released the following statement on August 8:
To see Lopez Lomong carry the flag into the opening ceremonies makes me proud to be an Olympian, and that the American team captains selected him reflects so much of what I love about the Olympic Spirit and Olympians. The Olympic Spirit is about coming together to set new records and achieve the impossible, about resolving our conflicts and celebrating our common humanity, and Lopez embodies that spirit. All of us at Team Darfur offer him our hearty congratulations.
The Chinese government revoked Joey Cheek's visa on Tuesday, preventing him from attending the Beijing Games. The Chinese government does not give reasons for denying or revoking visas. We also learned that Team Darfur decathlete Chris Boyles' visa was revoked on Monday.
The move was condemned by the Bush administration and a White House official said on Wednesday that the U.S. embassy in Beijing will ask that the decision be reversed.
Wednesday's edition of the Boston Globe featured a biography piece on Team Darfur co-founder and president Joey Cheek. The feature covers Joey's unique path to becoming a human rights activist as well as his time spent training for and competing in the Olympics.
"Speedskater Joey Cheek, 29, glides through T.F. Green International Airport as if he's in a race with himself, his long, thin torso leaning slightly forward when he walks. His Olympic gold medal is stashed in his backpack. He's in New England to give a motivational speech for a pharmaceutical company to help pay those pesky Princeton tuition bills. But he has his eyes on a bigger prize. Peace in Darfur, Sudan."
US Olympic team captains voted Lopez Lomong, a Sudanese refugee and Team Darfur athlete, to lead the US Olympic team and carry the US flag at the opening ceremonies. Read the article 
