The Tokyo Olympics is to be held between July 23 and eight august. While players are sweating themselves to remain fit and healthy in the pandemic, they also need to take care of some rules. These rules include not taking a knee or raising a fist on the podium as a mark of protests.
The Olympic body has made clear that athletes who take a knee or raise a fist at the games will be punished accordingly. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe urged the IOC, but they refused to take the decision back.
Key Points
- IOC has banned the podium protests at Tokyo games after a survey.
- Out of these, 70 % of athletes agreed to the ban.
- But some international federation chiefs disagree with IOC and believe that athletes’ opinion matters. If they want to show some respect, they should be allowed to in the games.
The international Olympic Committee declared a ban on every type of protest, whether it’s taking a knee or raising a fist in Tokyo Olympics
Any athlete found supporting in favor of racial equality will be punished. The IOC rule number 50 prohibits any demonstration based on religion, caste, or gender.
The IOC’s Rule 50 forbids any “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” in venues and any other Olympic area.
AS concluded during the survey, 70% of players do not want to stage any protest. Some athletes mentioned that the games should be about them, not about the world. These issues will only distract them from achieving something good.
“I would not want something to distract from my competition and take away from that. That is how I still feel today,” Coventry, a former Olympic swimming champion for Zimbabwe, said in an online presentation of the Rule 50 consultation results.
IOC has not mentioned the type of punishments, but former swimming champion Coventry said that if the survey says that people do not want to stage protests, the players’ will should be followed by the authorities. This survey was conducted last year in which more than 3,500 athletes participated. The Tokyo Olympics was postponed earlier due to Coronavirus. But this year, the games are back and will start from July 23.