Olympics ban ‘black lives matter’ clothing, could punish athletes for social protests

Austin (KXAN) – We are just 80 days away from the 2020 Summer Olympics postponed in Tokyo due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be an Olympic Games like no other – with No international fans.

Athletes must pass one COVID-19 battery for nasal tests And that is just one positive result that is far from ruining years of hard work and training.

The games will be played all over the world. This is a colossal step – both for sporting triumph and for eventual social change. Who can forget this image of Americans Tommy Smith and John Carlos with their fists raised during the 1968 Olympics in protest against racism.

But the Olympics continue to ban athlete protests and can punish athletes who choose to protest anyway. This means raising a fist or kneeling during the national anthem, as many professional American athletes have done over the past year, is punishable.

These athletes could even be brought home.

The IOC bans “black life” equipment

The International Olympic Committee has become very specific about what is not allowed. In particular, she said the slogan “Black lives matter” would be banned on athletes’ clothing during the Summer Olympics.

It is part of the long-standing ban by the International Olympic Committee of “political, religious or ethnic manifestations or propaganda” in the stadium, the presentation of medals or during official Games ceremonies.

More general words such as “peace”, “respect”, “solidarity”, “inclusion” and “equality” will be permitted on shirts.

To date, the International Olympic Committee has not defined the types of penalties that athletes can incur for breaking these rules. He simply said he would deal with each violation on a case-by-case basis.

International Olympic Committee says majority of athletes support ban on events

Athletes’ Committee of the International Olympic Committee Call for help for Al Qaeda 50 Of the Olympic Charter more than two-thirds of about 3,500 responses from sports advisory groups. The International Olympic Committee said that 70% of the athletes surveyed thought it was inappropriate to demonstrate during the competition, and 67% said it was also inappropriate for the medal category.

Athletes who break rule 50 may be punished by three bodies: the International Olympic Committee, their sport’s governing body and their National Olympic Committee (NOC).

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee pledged in December not to punish athletes for peacefully protesting the Olympic trials.

Many governing bodies of various Olympic sports have said they will not penalize athletes for protesting, including World Athletics, the world’s governing body for athletics.

Nonprofits come out to support athletes and push for ‘Rule 50’ reform

Many groups have it Promise of legal support For athletes who protest. The World Federation of Players has said the IOC’s decision is a decision it expects.

“Any athlete sanctioned at the Tokyo Olympics has the full support of players around the world,” said Brendan Schwab, executive director of the union.

The Global Athlete Group also issued a statement encouraging athletes “not to allow the old ‘rules of sport’ to replace your basic human rights.”

Noah Hoffman is closely involved with Global Athlete. He has won an Olympic title twice, having competed in cross-country skiing in Sochi in 2014 and in PyeongChang in 2018. global voice of athletes ”.

“We envision an Olympics in which the athletes are the focus of the show, more than the host country or the surrounding politics or the sponsors,” Hoffman said. “It’s a huge scene where the athletes are an afterthought.”

This report uses information from The Associated Press.