The International Olympics Committee have officially banned athletes from wearing Black Lives Matter (BLM) apparel at Olympic ceremonies.
As per TMZ, they have reiterated that if BLM “messaging” is perpetuated during official ceremonies, on podiums or during competition, the athletes may be subject to punishment. Furthermore, the ban on the merch has been confirmed after majority of athletes polled in favour of the ban, following previously announced restrictions on protesting at the Games.
During the recent press conference, IOC Athletes’ Commission chief Kirsty Coventry addressed the lengthy survey they conducted in order to reach their stance on BLM merch. According to Coventry 3547 athletes and Olympians were surveyed, representing 185 different national Olympic Committees.
And it doesn’t sound like they’ll have to worry about penalising many athletes at all. The general consensus? That majority of the athletes who are set to compete at the upcoming Olympic Games thought that it would be “inappropriate to demonstrate or express their views on the field of play”.
She said, “from what the majority of athletes, told us and shared with us was that most appropriate ways for athletes to express individual views were in the media, in the press conferences and it mix zones. And then we had least appropriate ways for athletes to express individual views, having been on the field of play, opening ceremony and the podium.”
She also added that the survey had revealed “new ways” that athletes would be happy to express their views. She said, “most popular new ways to express views, was a moment of solidarity during the opening ceremony being at 48%. Unified messaging on the field of play, an area dedicated in the Olympic village to express views and athlete apparel and collective messaging.”
Finally, Conventry continues to thank her team, acknowledging that there’s been a lot of work into reaching the consensus on the apparel.
What are your thoughts? For more on this topic, follow the Travel Observer.
BLM apparel is addressed in the press conference below:
