The International Olympic Committee announced this week it’s upholding Rule 50 and that means that taking a knee or raising a fist in support of Black Lives Matter or racial equality is banned at the Tokyo Olympics this summer as well as at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The summer games are set to run from July 23 – August 8, 2021. Last year, the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed because of the pandemic.
The winter games will be held February 4-20, 2022.
Taking a knee or raising a fist in support of racial justice will be punishable at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, the International Olympics Committee confirmed.
The IOC decided to maintain the protest ban after consulting with athletes, but some have called for a rule change. pic.twitter.com/3dgXCTem7n
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 22, 2021
IOC Bans Taking A Knee During Olympics
Daily Mail reported that the IOC’s Rule 50 forbids any kind of “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” at any Olympic events.
After consulting with athletes, the committee decided to enforce this rule despite calls from athletes for them to be allowed to protest during the Olympics.
Take a look at this video:
The IOC’s Athletes’ Commission chief Kirsty Coventry said that the majority of athletes that were consulted were against any kind of protests at sporting events.
“I would not want something to distract from my competition and take away from that. That is how I still feel today,” said Coventry, who is a former Olympic swimming champion for Zimbabwe.
When asked if athletes should be punished for making political statements by doing things like taking a knee at Olympic events, Coventry replied, “Yes that is correct.”
“That is also because of the majority of athletes we spoke to. That is what they are requesting for,” she explained, adding that around 70 percent of those athletes did not want protests on podiums, ceremonies, and fields of play.
Athletes Fire Back
Britain’s Olympic track cycling gold medalist Callum Skinner has since fired back by saying that the IOC can’t actually stop athletes from taking a knee at the Olympics.
He told The Times that the IOC seemed “intent on exercising control when they don’t have any.”
“If an athlete wants to take the knee, they will take the knee,” he said.
Skinner, who retired two years ago, is a member of the Global Athlete group, which aims to “create positive change in world sport.” He went on to say that standing up for equality was not a political act.
“People get frustrated by ‘Black Lives Matter’ because they see it as a political movement, but at its core it’s fighting for equality and that is something the Olympics should 100% stand behind,” he continued.
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American Athlete Sounds Off
American hammer thrower Gwen Berry also slammed the IOC for this.
“They won’t be the pioneers of true change,” she said. “They have their own agenda and it’s to protect billions of dollars they generate from the Olympic Games.”
No doubt this decision will enrage many of vocal ‘woke’ athletes around the globe. This Olympics ban, however, signals that the world doesn’t support their agenda to blend politics with sports.
We want to escape and enjoy the skill and thrill of the Olympic Games. No one wants to tune in just to be lectured about “woke” liberal politics by athletes.