Human right was at the forefront of the Montreal Games after 22 African nations boycotted the Olympics because New Zealand was participating. Earlier that year, New Zealand sparked outrage among African countries when it sent its national rugby team to play in South Africa, which was under apartheid. This marked the first of several politically-motivated boycotts of the Olympics.
22个非洲国家因新西兰参赛而联合抵制奥运会，在此之后人权问题就处于了蒙特利尔奥运会的风口浪尖。当年早些时候，新西兰国家橄榄球队前往种族隔离制度下的南非比赛，因此在非洲国家激起了民愤。这是第一次因政治原因而抵制奥运会的运动。