Athletes at the United States Olympic trials will be allowed to take part in racial and social justice demonstrations, including taking a knee during the national anthem.
Guidance was issued Tuesday by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee on what should and should not be allowed at the trials, which will determine who represents the country at this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
“The USOPC values the expressions of Team USA athletes and believes that their right to advocate for racial and social justice aligns with the fundamental values of equality that define Team USA and the Olympic and Paralympic movements,” committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said.
Athletes can kneel during the anthem or hold up their fist on the podium. The latter was famously done as a Black Power salute by track-and-field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City.
Wearing a hat with phrases such as “Black Lives Matter” or “Trans Lives Matter,” or words such as “equality” or “respect” will also be allowed. Furthermore, the committee is letting athletes speak about equity and equal rights for “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color individuals, or other historically underrepresented, marginalized or minoritized populations.”
Athletes will be also encouraged to use their voice through the press and social media to support causes they believe in, according to the committee.
The committee will not allow American athletes to wear clothing with hate symbols or hate speech, nor will they be permitted to make hand gestures to the effect. They will also not be allowed to take part in violent protests or deface the American flag.
The International Olympic Committee, however, will not allow some of the demonstrations that will be permitted in the United States. Protests of a political nature are not permitted at all Olympic venues, the IOC said.
“There is a need to respect other athletes and their moment of glory, and not to draw attention away from that in any way,” the IOC said. “With demonstrations on the field of play, at the Olympic Village or during the official ceremonies, the dignity of the competition or the ceremony in question is destroyed for all the athletes concerned.”
Prior to the IOC issuing its guidance, the Team USA council said it would not sanction its athletes who “respectfully (demonstrate) support of racial and social justices for all human beings.” It’s unclear if that remains the same with its new guidance, which was solely geared toward the Olympic trials.
Some players in most U.S. sports leagues kneeled during the national anthem during parts of the 2020 year in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
A poll released last summer by CBS News and YouGov showed that a majority of Americans think kneeling during the national anthem is an acceptable form of protest, McClatchy News reported.
