/ AP

Political statements have been made at the Olumpics in the past. Here, in the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico, U.S. athetes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos, right, stare downward and raise their fists in a salute to African Americans, while Australia silver medalist Peter Norman wears an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge to show his support for the two Americans.

Another sign that France's delegation might be one to watch for protests in Beijing came from a survey last week in Sport magazine.

The magazine said it asked 126 athletes who either qualified or who could qualify for the Olympics and Paralympics, and that nearly half said they were ready to skip the opening ceremony. A third said they'd be willing to wear a Tibet flag T-shirt at the games, three-fourths supported Mesnil's campaign, and nearly half expressed hope that French President Nicolas Sarkozy will make good on his threats to boycott the opening ceremony.

Mesnil said that if enough athletes wear the same symbol in Beijing, the IOC could not throw them all out.

He also added that despite the charter's ban on propaganda and demonstrations, "there's already a degree of tolerance toward religious signs: at the minimum, athletes who wear crosses, but also athletes who make the sign of the cross at the start of a race or who get down on their knees and pray at the end of the race."

"That's already tolerated, so why not tolerance toward a symbol showing the value of human rights?" Mesnil said.

But there are many who have no plans to speak out, saying it is not their role, that they are too busy training, or that they want to keep the games focused on sports. Even though there is no momentum internationally for a boycott of the entire games, athletes are concerned their years of toil could go to waste.

U.S. softball player Stacey Nuveman said she hopes there is no boycott.

"I have my own concerns from a personal standpoint, and I don't like what's happening necessarily (in China). But I also don't believe it's my place as an individual to take that next step," she said.

"I know there has been a lot going on with the torch process and it moving from Athens to Beijing and the possibility of protests. God bless them. People have a right to do that (protest), especially in the U.S.," the La Verne, Calif., catcher said.

"At the same time, I am a softball player, my goal is to win a gold medal and I hope there is nothing to distract me from that end. I think that is true of all athletes."

U.S. sprinter Sanya Richards said "politics and sports should always be separate."

"Anytime you mix sports and politics, the athletes usually lose out," said Richards, who won gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 1,600 relay. "That's what happened in 1980 when we boycotted and nothing came out of it."

Olympic floor gymnastics gold medalist Kyle Shewfelt of Canada said on his Web site that the games should be about the athletes.

"Why is it OK to even consider sacrificing athletes' dreams on behalf of making a statement?" he wrote.

Video   Protests threaten Olympic-torch relay April 8: Widespread anti-China disruptions of the Olympic torch relay may mean the international section of the run could be dropped from future games. TODAY's Ann Curry reports.

"I know that there are some human rights violations taking place in Tibet and the Dalai Lama is speaking out. This sounds so naive and jaded, but there is only so much time in the day and I have been spending most of mine preparing myself to be at my peak in August," Shewfelt said.

Italian world champion swimmer Filippo Magnini noted that there have been thousands of deaths since 1959 in Tibet and China.

"I don't see why there should be protests only now. Just because of the Olympics? There should have always been protests," Magnini said. "They used to stop wars for the Olympics and now they want to stop the Olympics. It doesn't seem right."

Two-time taekwondo Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez of Sugar Land, Texas, sees a boycott of the opening ceremony as "a negative."

"As an individual, I take great pride in representing my country, to be able to wear USA on my back," he said. "I don't think that would help the situation. I think there are other ways to help the crisis in Sudan, Darfur or Tibet."

Tennis player Amelie Mauresmo said the IOC shares some blame for giving the Olympics to China.

"It gets on my nerves that we athletes are the ones who are going to have to do something about the human rights and things in Tibet," the 2006 Wimbledon and Australian Open champion said. "The people in the IOC should have never let Beijing in these conditions be the host city for the Olympics. Or make sure things are going to be right."

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