Forget taking a knee or raising your first.
Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics this summer will be prohibited from making political protests, as the International Olympic Committee announced this week it was upholding Rule 50 of its charter.
The IOC went through a long process deciding whether or not athletes could protest. IOC“No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas,” the rule states
In the end, the IOC decided to keep true to Rule 50 of its charter and not allow athletes to protest. Andreas Gora/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe IOC said it chose to uphold the rule after “an extensive qualitative and quantitative consultation process” that included 3,500 athletes representing 185 different national Olympic committees and 41 different sports.
According to an IOC survey, 67 percent of athletes said the podium is an inappropriate place for protests or other demonstrations of individual views; 70 percent said the same for both the field of play and opening ceremonies.
The Tokyo Olympics were originally supposed to be held in 2020 but were postponed due to COVID-19. Eugene Hoshiko/AP“We want to amplify the voices of athletes, and find more ways to support the values of the Olympic Games and what sport stands for,” said Kirsty Coventry, chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission. “This consultation was a very important process for us and is part of the ongoing dialogue with the athlete community.”
