The International Olympic Committee released new guidelines surrounding protests at the Olympics Thursday, and American hammer thrower Gwen Berry — who raised her fist on the podium at last summer’s Pan American Games — did not hold back in her response.
“It is a form of control,” she told Yahoo Sports’ Henry Bushnell. “It’s kind of like silencing us at the biggest moments of our lives. Which … I really don’t agree with it.”
Berry, similar to what runners John Carlos and Tommie Smith did at the 1968 Olympics, raised her fist on the podium to protest social inequality in America and specifically the treatment of black Americans, according to Yahoo Sports.
U.S. hammer thrower Gwen Berry raises her fist at the end of the national anthem at the Pan Am Games today. (h/t @sergeta) pic.twitter.com/gnBCEEDN1m
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) August 11, 2019
Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter previously stated that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” Thursday, the updated guidelines further detailed where athletes can and cannot protest or voice opinions. It did say that athletes can express themselves in press conferences, team meetings, or via media (social or otherwise).
The new guidelines say, should they be violated, that national federations and the IOC will determine disciplinary action on a case-by-case basis.
Berry’s demonstration was a “spur of the moment” decision, she added, but she feels the power of the “moment” in which she is important. Thus, Berry thinks it’s important that athletes be able to demonstrate at the Olympics — sports’ biggest stage.
“We sacrifice for something for four years, and we’re at our highest moment,” she said. “We should be able to say whatever we want to say, do whatever we have to do – for our brand, our culture, the people who support us, the countries that support us, [everything].”
Berry also lamented the generic questions medal-winners often receive and the politicization of the Games, seemingly on the IOC’s terms.
“Because anytime somebody gets on the podium, the first question they ask is, ‘Oh, how does it feel to win a medal for your country?’ ” Berry said. “It’s the same thing, over and over and over again. Like, when are we gonna have conversations about real issues?”
Protests of multiple types have come to swimming in recent years. Last July, Mack Horton and Duncan Scott abstained from podium festivities in some events at the 2019 FINA World Championships in protest of Sun Yang‘s presence, as he awaited his fate in regard to 2018 blood vial smashing incident.
In October 2017, Olympic gold medalist Anthony Ervin knelt during the playing of national anthems ahead of the Raia Rapida meet in Brazil amid a national debate over athletes’ right to peacefully protest, sparked by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
There’s a big difference between protesting questionable drugs testing in the sport and racial inequalities in your home country. If you can’t see the difference that’s your problem and no one else’s. However, this new ‘rule’ would apparently cover both kinds of protests and that can be problematic. Olympic athletes are frequently treated like cattle and this rule that prevents them from voicing their opinion is just another example.
Free speech and freedom overall are under attack everywhere. And here in France unfortunately we look more and more like USA. Censorship, the reign of political correctness and the almost exclusiveness of establishment talking points in the media to serve the interests of the powerful and the war machine.
Sorry dear Americans but free speech is such a joke in your country. Censorship on social media run by US companies against dissenting voices. Double standards. Manufactured consent by corporate media. Dictatorship of puritanism. Universities poisoned by censorship and cancel culture. Self censorship by newspapers on press cartoons. The NYT, epicenter of the establishment, has cut all political cartoons last year. Self censorship in the movies. Self censorship on TV.… Read more »
I agree with her that the IOC are trying to silence athletes in their moments, and as I said previously I totally disagree with the IOC stance, but her point about questioning rubbed me up the wrong way. If an issue is close to your heart, establish a relevant platform to speak out on. While protests should be an athletes right, these events are still about sport, most of the journalists are sports journalists, and that shouldnt change.
Actually, it’s Coral Blue #5
Hey, we wealthy Olympic Committee, Fina, NBC folks out of the goodness of our hearts put on this great sporting event and the competitors should have the decency to enjoy it with their mouths shut.
Actually this is more right then wrong
Protests lead to decreased viewers which lead to lower ratings (see nba) and less exposure, money, etc
No one watches for protests
If u need to protest, do well enuff in ur events that people care about your issues off the podium
You don’t think that if Colin Kaepernick ever makes it on to a professional football field again, that the ratings won’t be among the highest regular season games in history? Because people want to see what he’s going to do?
At some point people would get bored of it and stop watching for the protests and it could eventually hurt viewership. But, if, say, Caeleb Dressel knelt on the podium for his first race, and that became a huge international story, you know people would tune in to see what he did the 2nd time. The protests make the sports way more intersectional than they would be otherwise.
NFL ratings were down 20% for 2 years of kneeling and only rebounded when it stopped
That’s a fact.
People might watch once and then they are angry. Not a popular look
No NFL coach wants that MAJOR DISTRACTION in his locker room. . . . and after his aborted tryout in Atlanta in November the likelihood of that ever happening went to zero.
This!
@Braden Keith: tsk, tsk. You need a better example than Caeleb Dressel hypothetically kneeling on the podium. That dude has a huge six-color American eagle tattooed on his left shoulder and an American flag on his left forearm. The odds of him kneeling on the podium at the Olympics are less than Kaepernick making a return to the NFL.
So the religious message is no more ! Now thats what i call fickle .
So you are saying that if you protest you dont love America? I think that is wrong. Those that protest want to see the advancement of America whereas those that are against it, want to suppress and go back to a time when not everyone had equal rights. Just my thoughts.
Yeah, since when did ‘protest’ become ‘anti-American’? For those who forgot, our country was founded out of protest, and then a war was fought to defend that right. Glad the 2020 right wasn’t in charge of our country in 1776 – we’d all still be British.
Kap will never see an NFL field again, no chance of seeing how the viewership stat will play out. Ownership has shown they are taking a stand and have made it clear players are employees working for them. Just like the average American, there are rules to follow when employed. If you don’t follow them you risk being fired. Kap has experienced just that.
Dressell has far too much class and character to use this type event or forum for a protest. Life is full of choices that require individuals to wisely choose the time and place for a protest. It’s a shame so many can’t figure out how to be effective and productive rather than simply trying to get… Read more »
Guaran-fn-tee that if Kaepernick showed up to play in an NFL game viewership would go way up just to watch for the protest.
What was Anthony protested against and why was it in 2017 but not in 2016? It was also Brazil. Probably the unbelievable achievement he made was more important to him then that anything else.
Sometimes people get confused about the nature of protest. Was he as Jewish person demonstrated against the rise of antisemitism in U.S.? Or there was the black part of his blood required him to support Colin Kaepernick. Anthony is very complicated and inconsistent person to bring him as example of anything.
He definitely protested so it’s accurate to report on it. There’s no mention in the article as to what he was protesting. Just because you (Yozhik) don’t understand this doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be reported.
He wasn’t protesting. He heard Hosszu won two golds at Worlds and was kneeling down to The Legend.
Sometimes these actions are needed to get the wider world to realise how others are being treated. Words aren’t enough. If it’s peaceful and gets people talking them I wouldn’t want to see podium protests banned.
Before u know it every podium will be either a touchdown dance or a Kaepernick kneel down. No way
The best and easiest way to end a protest is to address or even acknowledge the problem. If you don’t like them then the protest is effective.
Similar to how MP, Alison Schmidt and Shields have used their platform for mental health awareness. Without the podium type theatrics of course.
Shields would have to make the podium first.
It brings unfairness. What about athletes who also want to demonstrate their protests but were not good enough to get on the podium? What other places do they have left to demonstrate their overwhelming feelings? Crushing gas stations or public toilets? The only difference between those places and Olympic podium is that there would be no National Anthem played and no National Flag raised to make such acts funnier.
No mater how to look at that but these people demonstrate first of all the disrespect to their Nations and then the rest of what they want say.
We have to be very careful with such acts if we don’t want these protests evolve into another Munich.
The world could care less they just think it’s funny that the US citizens are such snowflakes
Not the time & place to discuss personal beliefs.
BS.
Countless times an athlete is given a public forum, they’re told this isn’t the time. Is there ever going to be a good time?
They can do it anytime they want here in this country. But not in a foreign country when you are supposed to be representing the USA. If you can’t honor the American people by standing for the flag then don’t pretisapate as an American. Toss a hammer for another country.