Contact UsDMCA policyAbout UsPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseDisclaimerCookie Policy
Trending
How to Detect Malware in Your BrowserExploring the Benefits of Popular Dietary Supplements: What Science SaysUnderstanding Z-Library: Bottom line on Legality and SafetyThe healthcare sector is complex and ever-evolvingEstablishing a Comprehensive Patient Safety ProgramTips for Overcoming Substance Use DisorderHow To Recognize Signs of Mental IllnessLeveraging Fashion Trends While Maintaining IndividualityTips for Utilizing Knowledge Management ToolsTeam Collaboration: Using an Action Plan Template for Group Projects
Home › Sports

Olympics Allows Protests, but Not During Events or on Medals Stand

Bhupender SainiJul 02, 2021Sports
Olympics Allows Protests, but Not During Events or on Medals Stand

The separation of sports and politics has long been one of the most carefully protected, and fiercely debated, values of the Olympic Games. Rules exist to police that divide, and athletes have been punished — and even ejected from the Games — for breaking them.

But on Friday, in a move reflecting the influence of a remarkable, ongoing outpouring of activism from athletes, the International Olympic Committee released new guidelines offering Olympians a chance to “express their views” on the field of play before the start of a competition, including during athlete introductions.

Under the new rules, athletes competing this month at the Summer Games in Tokyo now will theoretically be allowed to wear an article of clothing (a shirt with a slogan or a glove, for example) or make a symbolic gesture (like kneeling or raising a fist) to express their views on an issue before the start of their events.

They still will not be allowed to conduct any sort of demonstration on the field of play, on the podium during medal ceremonies, in the Olympic athletes’ village or at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.

It was a small but symbolically significant concession, softening the I.O.C.’s longstanding rule against protest at the Games, but it fell short of what many athletes, including many from the United States, had called for in recent months.

It was, however, notable, particularly considering that the I.O.C. earlier this year had reaffirmed its ban on protests and political messages at the Olympics after growing calls from broad segments of its athlete population for more leniency on such issues. But the organization had also signaled a desire to look for new and creative ways to allow for self-expression, and it apparently found one.

Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which had long outlawed any “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” at the Games, has come under repeated scrutiny over previous Olympic cycles, and more intensely over the past year.

The I.O.C.’s firm stance against any forms of protest or activism had seemed to put it at odds with rapidly changing attitudes across the sports world, particularly in North America, where scores of athletes — everywhere from the professional ranks to small town high schools — felt compelled to join the broader protest movement against racism and police brutality that filled the streets of American cities last summer and soon spread around the world.

In December, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced that it would no longer punish American athletes for political expression in competition or on the medal podium, reversing its own longstanding policy against athlete activism. That decision came as professional leagues in North America and Europe have over the past year proactively carved out time and space for their own athletes to conduct displays of support for certain causes, like kneeling during a national anthem or before the start of play.