Athletes at the 2020 Olympic Games will not be allowed to take a knee — unless they’re tying their sneakers.
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday published a strict set of guidelines that bars competitors participating in the upcoming 32nd Olympics in Tokyo from using the world stage for political protests.
That means no political displays like signs and armbands, no gestures “of a political nature” — including taking a knee or making hand gestures, like a raised fist — and no refusing to follow protocol at Olympic ceremonies or “on the field of play,” the three-page document said.
The guidelines don’t specify what the punishment will be for those who flout the ban, saying only “disciplinary action will be taken on a case-by-case basis.”
“We believe that the example we set by competing with the world’s best while living in harmony in Olympic Village is a uniquely positive message to send to an increasingly divided world,” the IOC said.
“This is why it is important, on both a personal and global level, that we keep the venues, the Olympic Village and the podium neutral and free from any form of political, religious or ethnic demonstrations.”
One of the games’ most memorable protests was the 1968 Mexico City demonstration by American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who each raised a fist on the medal podium during the national anthem in a shout-out to the civil rights movement.
In the US, the National Football League in 2018 began requiring players to stand during the anthem after dozens of athletes began kneeling in 2016 to protest racism in the country.
But the IOC’s new guidelines come after protests closer to home — in international competition.
Two American athletes were put on probation for one year after protests at the Pan-American Games in Peru in August: Race Imboden, a fencer, for kneeling, and hammer thrower Gwen Berry, for raising a fist.
Also last year, Australian and British swimmers refused to take the medal podium with Chinese gold medalist Sun Yang because of doping allegations against Yang.
And in 2016, Ethiopian marathoner Feyisa Lilesa crossed his wrists at the finish line in solidarity with demonstrators in his home country.
“We needed clarity and they wanted clarity on the rules,” said Kirsty Coventry, who chairs the IOC Athletes Commission. “The majority of athletes feel it is very important that we respect each other as athletes.”