You know what goes well every single time? Telling people not to do something. If, hypothetically, the International Olympic Committee told athletes that they’d banned protesting, people absolutely would 100% not protest.
Except it isn’t hypothetical, and the International Olympic Committee has actually decided to ban protesting. They’ve released a three page document outlining what people can and can’t do when it comes to activism.
Specifically, they’re telling everyone that there will be “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” So no raising a fist or taking a knee. Political signs and armbands are also banned.
It’s not just the athletes that have to cop this either, it’s anyone with credentials, which means the coaches and officials are being watched too.
Why, I hear you ask? Because “sport is neutral” and “the focus at the Olympic Games must remain on athletes’ performances.”
Probably one of the most famous Olympic moments ever was during the 1968 Olympics when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists wearing black gloves on the podium to protest the treatment of Black Americans. It’s a historic moment, and the men were actually inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame last year.
Fast forward to today, and there’s a hell of a lot going on in the world worth protesting. Climate change, the almost-war that Trump wants to start with Iran, everything Trump does really, and so many other things. The list is endless.
And as for claiming that sport is neutral? Neutral is still a position, guys. It’s a universal truth at this point that someone actively choosing not to take a side or make any comment whatsoever is taking the side of the oppressor – consciously or not.
The Tokyo Olympics kick off in July. We’ll see how well people listen to this rule then.
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