US athletes, Carlos call on IOC to end protest ban
Issued on: 27/06/2020

John Carlos has joined calls from US Olympians to end rules banning athletes from protesting at the Olympics RONALDO SCHEMIDT AFP

Los Angeles (AFP)

United States athletes and 1968 Mexico Games  icon John Carlos on Saturday called for the International Olympic Committee to scrap rules barring athletes from protesting at the Olympics.

In a letter sent to the IOC, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee's athlete council requested that Olympic chiefs abolish its anti-protest regulation.

The letter was sent in partnership with former US sprinter Carlos, who was famously kicked out of the Mexico City games in 1968 for raising his fist on the medal podium in a black power salute along with compatriot Tommie Smith.


"Athletes will no longer be silenced," the US athlete council wrote in the letter.

"The IOC and International Paralympic Committee cannot continue on the path of punishing or removing athletes who speak up for what they believe in, especially when those beliefs exemplify the goals of Olympism," the letter reads.

"Instead, sports administrators must begin the responsible task of transparent collaboration with athletes and athlete groups to reshape the future of athlete expression at the Olympic and Paralympic Games."

The issue of athlete protests at the Olympics came under renewed scrutiny following the wave of protests which erupted across the United States and around the world following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

The USOPC had been criticised after issuing reprimands to US hammer thrower Gwen Berry and fencer Race Imboden, who both protested on the podium during last year's Pan-American Games in Lima to draw attention to social injustice.

Berry, who raised a clenched fist on the podium, and Imboden, who knelt down, were given a year's probation by the USOPC and warned they could face severe sanctions if they carried out similar protests again.

International Olympic Committee rules bar any "demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda" at the Games.

In the weeks since the protests over George Floyd's death erupted, the USOPC has said it will review rules regarding athlete protests, saying officials had "failed to listen and tolerated racism and inequality."

The IOC, which in January issued an updated set of guidelines regarding athlete activism, outlawing any kind of demonstration on the medal podium or field of play, has hinted it may be willing to soften its stance.

The IOC is backing discussions led by the Olympic Athletes Commission to consider ways of allowing "dignified" shows of support for anti-racism initiatives.

- 'fundamental human right' -

The USOPC athlete council and Carlos had requested abolishing the rule against protests during a conference call with the IOC's Athletes Commission on Thursday.

In its letter to the IOC released Saturday, the US Olympians said freedom of expression was a "fundamental human right."

"The Olympic and Paralympic movement simultaneously honors athletes like John Carlos and Tommie Smith, displaying them in museums and praising their Olympic values, while prohibiting current athletes from following in their footsteps," the letter read.

"Carlos and Smith risked everything to stand for human rights and what they believed in, and they continue to inspire generation after generation to do the same. It is time for the Olympic and Paralympic movement to honor their bravery rather than denounce their actions."

© 2020 AFP

Olympic civil rights icon John Carlos turns 75

Posted by Athletics Weekly | Jun 5, 2020 |

USA’s 1968 Olympic 200m bronze medallist, who made history alongside Tommie Smith in Mexico City, continues to campaign for equality

As the United States witnesses continuing mass Black Lives Matter protests across the nation, one of the most iconic figures in the struggle for equality in America today turns 75, writes Malcolm McCausland.

John Wesley Carlos (pictured above, right) was born in Harlem, New York, to Cuban parents, on June 5, 1945. He shone as a high school athlete and was awarded an athletics scholarship to East Texas State University (now Texas A&M), but after an outstanding first year on the track he transferred to the more prestigious San Jose State University in California where he was trained by famed coach Lloyd (Bud) Winter.

Carlos won the 200m in the 1968 US Olympic Trials at Lake Tahoe, clocking 19.92, beating Tommie Smith and surpassing Smith’s world record by 0.3 seconds. The mark was never ratified because Carlos was wearing brush spikes (with multiple needles) but the performance still marked his arrival as a world-class sprinter.

Political from an early age, Carlos became a founding member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR). He advocated a boycott of the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games unless four conditions were met: withdrawal of South Africa and Rhodesia from the Games, restoration of Muhammad Ali’s world heavyweight boxing title, Avery Brundage to step down as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the hiring of more African-American assistant coaches.

The IOC withdrew invitations from South Africa and Rhodesia, diminishing the support for a boycott, but the other three conditions were not met. Nevertheless, he and Smith decided to compete but stage a protest if either, or both, won a medal.

As it happened, Carlos took third behind Smith and Australian Peter Norman in the 200m and they took to the presentation podium wearing black socks and no shoes, depicting the poverty suffered by many African-Americans in the US. They then made history by raising black-gloved fists in protest during the American national anthem.

After the Olympics, Carlos played American football in Canada, (THERE IS NO AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN CANADA CANADA HAS IT'S OWN LEAGUE) worked for Puma and the US Olympic Committee before becoming a track and field coach. He has remained a champion for human rights and in 2006 was a pallbearer and gave an oration at the funeral of Norman in Australia.

In 2008 he and Smith, who by coincidence celebrates his 76th birthday tomorrow, accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for their salute. Three years later, Carlos spoke and raised his fist at the Occupy Wall Street protest to highlight social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government.

“Today I am here for you. Why? Because I am you,” he said. “We’re here forty-three years later because there’s a fight still to be won. This day is not for us but for our children to come.”

Initially the back-gloved salute was not taken well. Both athletes were ordered to leave the Olympic village and Mexico within 48 hours for violating the spirit of the Olympic movement. However, in the fullness of time, the image has become one of the most stunning, meaningful and revealing in history.