The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stated that any athlete making political statements or gestures at the upcoming Tokyo 2020 (now 2021) Olympics will face swift punishment. This includes athletes 'taking a knee' against racism.
The IOC's Rule 50 states:
"No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."
The IOC claims that after a poll of 3,500 athletes that the majority agree with this decision, they said:
"A clear majority of athletes believe that it is not appropriate for athletes to demonstrate or express their views."
The IOC's Athletes' Commission chief Kirsty Coventry added:
"I would not want something to distract from my competition and take away from that. That is how I still feel today."
The official IOC report read:
"Although the restriction imposed by Rule 50 may appear too sweeping, especially if compared to some sports organizations which allow expression in support of social (as opposed to political) causes, there are significant difficulties that an organization as diverse and universal as the IOC would face in distinguishing between admissible and inadmissible causes. For this reason, a blanket of neutrality is deemed an appropriate and proportionate solution, including from a human rights perspective, given the risk of politicizing the IOC and alienating countries or athletes."
Many Athletes, particularly in the United States, have made impromptu protests during sporting events against issues such as racism. After the killing of George Floyd, many sporting associations even officially took a position of participants 'taking a knee', this includes for example, the English Premier Football league, though the practice has now been disbanded.
The Olympics has long been a scene for athletes and others to make political points. At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, made a black-power fist salute during the playing of the national anthem after they won gold and bronze medals in the 200 metres. A white athlete, Peter Norman, who won the silver medal, wore a human-rights badge on his jacket.
The protest was against ongoing racism in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. had been murdered by a white supremacist just a few months earlier.
[h/t: Daily Wire]
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