As an Activist Athlete, Cheek Is a Rarity

"They want to be involved, yet they want to avoid controversy," Starn says. "They're activists, but not with raised fists."

It's a fine line to negotiate, says sports agent Bob Klein, who has helped many of the country's top snowboarders, such as Danny Kass, Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark, parlay their Olympic medals and X Games fame into multimillion dollar incomes -- most of it coming from corporate sponsors.

"I would love to see more athletes take a stand for their personal beliefs -- whether political, religious or social issues," Klein says. "But from a business standpoint, I don't necessarily recommend it. Most corporations don't want to be on any side of controversy. They just want to sell their product."

And in snowboarding, it's not what could be categorized as liberal causes that make potential sponsors shudder. In a few instances, Klein says, it has been athletes' religious convictions and their desire to brand themselves -- and their snowboards -- accordingly.

"I've run into real crazy biases where [sponsors] freak out about the religious side," Klein says. "You push it, and you find out it would be okay if [the athlete] had a sticker of a naked woman or a pot plant on their board. But a Jesus sticker is off limits."

The Work Continues

These days, Joey Cheek rarely laces up his ice skates. When he does, he insists, the results are laughable.

"I like to joke I have the body of a scholar now," he says, claiming that his tan suit obscures thin arms and legs and a paunch in between.

It's partly the result of trying to catch up on all the frivolity he missed in his teens and 20s after deferring college to train with the U.S. speedskating team.

"You come off the Olympic gold, and you think you're going to conquer the world," Cheek says. "So I thought, 'I want to get straight A's and party every night and do all this stuff!' "

He says he is determined to study harder these last two years.

Already he can write essays and hold basic conversations in Chinese. His classes in ancient and modern Chinese history have deepened the admiration he developed for the country's culture and achievements during four visits to the mainland before his visa was revoked last August. A class in Chinese economics awaits this fall.

During a recent visit to Washington, Cheek had no appointments on Capitol Hill but slipped quietly into the Team Darfur office to do a bit of work. Then he took part in a fast to observe World Refugee Day -- not to make a public statement, he explained, but "to spend a few small hours trying to walk in someone else's shoes.

"You can't do everything you think is right, but I think everyone should fight for something," Cheek says. "I don't criticize or condemn anyone who doesn't choose to. But if you have to keep something you really, truly believe quiet because you're afraid it's going to hurt your bottom line, I don't have a lot of respect for it."