The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) on Tuesday released new rules governing and procedures governing racial and social demonstrations at upcoming Olympic Trials.
The big takeaway is a new governance system, communicated in an open letter to Team USA athletes, that codifies what is and isn’t allowable and what consequences athletes can face. The top-line note comes in the introduction of the nine-page document (boiled down to two pages for athletes):
Racial and Social Demonstrations (as defined below) will not be punished or undermined by the USOPC, nor will they affect an athlete’s participation rights at a U.S. Olympic or Paralympic Trials event.
These rules, which were developed with recommendations from Team USA’s Council on Racial and Social Justice and consultation with other stakeholders, apply only at U.S. Trials. At the Olympics and Paralympics, the USOPC explicitly defers authority to the IOC, which controversially governs athlete expression via IOC Charter Rule 50 and Rule 2.2. The USOPC also doesn’t have total authority over events conducted by other national governing bodies but, “encourages NGBs to adopt similar rules to govern their own events.”
Examples of actions that are considered permissible racial and social demonstrations by the USOPC include:
- Wearing a hat or face mask with phrases such as “Black Lives Matter” or “Trans Lives Matter” or words such “equality” or “justice”.
- Orally advocating for equity/equal rights for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals, or other historically underrepresented, marginalized or minoritized populations.
- Holding up one’s fist at the start line or on the podium.
- Kneeling on the podium or at the start line during the national anthem.
- Advocating for equal treatment of underrepresented, marginalized, or minoritized groups around the world, or against systemic barriers to such equal treatment.
- Advocating for communities free from police violence, or against systemic police discrimination against Black individuals or other marginalized populations.
Not permissible are any gestures, statements, etc. linked to hate groups, as recognized by the Anti-Defamation League, actions that impede other athletes’ rights to compete or protests/demonstrations aimed at specific organization or populations historically discriminated against. The Confederate flag, listed as “historically discriminatory,” is specifically impermissible.
The USOPC document also lays out criteria for punishment, both in real time and after the fact, with a list of potential sanctions. The organization also has created dispensation via a Dispute Resolution Unit that a participant can appeal to, and that unit will convene a Trials Administrative Board that includes executives, the Athletes Advisory Council Chair, a veteran athlete and the chair of the applicable NGB.
The USOPC, in a statement, committed to an ongoing process of refining certain definitions of Racial and Social Demonstrations as need be:
The USOPC will work with athletes and NGBs to provide education materials and ensure current athletes are aware of the Trials demonstrations rules, including historical context, potential impacts, resources available and additional ways athletes can share their message. The Office of the Athlete Ombuds is available to provide independent and confidential advice to athletes regarding their rights under these rules and to assist in the resolution of athlete concerns and disputes.
The games have always been Politically free.
If athletes decide to kneel , to display BLM , they are no longer representing this country but their own
Political agendas.
If these are the new guidelines for athletes, I will no longer be able to cheer on and show pride in our US teams.
The small financial support will also end.
This was the only event that everyone could seat back and cheer on their country without politics.
You have now ruin that …..
Well said Jude.
If someone is black / white / straight / gay / Norwegian / French / Sagittarius / Capricorn…. guess what? I don’t care! We are born that way, have no say in the matter and within those categories are the whole range of humans. Before anyone says ‘pride’, you cannot be proud of something unless achievement is involved. Life is about DOING not BEING and any sort of minority demanding thoroughly disproportionate representation – there are many examples if you look at the numbers – should consider whether their ‘identity’ is really of prime importance right now.