IOC relax protest rules

GENEVA. — The International Olympic Committee finally relented on Friday to let Olympic athletes make gestures of protest in their field of play at the Tokyo Games.

A third update within 18 months of Olympic guidelines that try to limit where and how athletes express opinions included for the first time greater scope within their event arena. 

The latest guidance appears to let athletes copy the iconic Black Power raised fist gestures of American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. 

However, they should be allowed in Tokyo only “prior to the start of the competition” and not on the podium at medal ceremonies as Smith and Carlos did. The American 200-medal medallists were expelled from the Olympics. 

Gestures will now be allowed in Tokyo by athletes “after leaving the ‘call room’ (or similar area) or during the introduction of the individual athlete or team,” the IOC said. This should include at the starting blocks or starting line. 

Athletes still face disciplinary action if their gesture is “targeted, directly or indirectly, against people, countries, organisations,” or is disruptive, the IOC said. 

Disruption could include disturbing an opponent’s concentration or preparation, by unfurling a banner or a gesture during a national anthem. 

In an era of renewed athlete activism and gestures such as taking a knee, the IOC has struggled to adapt the long-standing Rule 50 of its Olympic Charter. It states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” 

The IOC Athletes’ Commission’s re-enforcing of Rule 50 in January 2020 was criticized at the time by some athlete groups, and it looked outdated after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. 

A review of the rule was promised by the IOC amid a global wave of support for the Black Lives Matter movement and calls for more social equality. 

When results of the next Rule 50 review were announced in April, the guidance to athletes still fell short of what activist groups wanted. 

The consultation overseen by the athlete representative on the IOC’s executive board, Olympic champion swimmer Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, concluded athletes wanted the field of play and podiums protected. — AFP.