For the sake of the hypothetical: what would have been the more effective action in r/worldnews' eyes? Forbidding US athletes from competing?

I guess something slightly impactful would have been to not go to the Games as a nation, but still allowing US athletes to compete under the Olympics Games flag instead of the US flag.

A second option would indeed be to boycott the games, sacrificing the efforts of hundreds of US athletes to participate to the games (maybe that one time only), but it's harder to do politically.

A third option would have been to not bomb Chinese Uighurs known as a terrorist organization in Afghanistan, because that gives credential to the actual reason China is clamping down on Xinjiang. That ship has sailed though.

But overall, not even sacrificing the US flag (1st option) in face of serious genocide allegations is kinda weak if you ask me.