IOC Says Rule Banning Protests Will Remain in Place at 2021 Tokyo Olympics - Bleacher Report

Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press

In January, the International Olympic Committee released guidelines for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that included a ban on "gestures of a political nature, like a hand gesture or kneeling."

The Tokyo Games were postponed to summer 2021 in late March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the IOC confirmed to the Telegraph's Ben Bloom on Tuesday "the guidelines are still in place" against protests.

Ben Bloom @benbloomsport

Exclusive: The IOC and IPC have confirmed athletes will not be allowed to ‘take a knee’ at next year’s Olympics and Paralympics. https://t.co/WSNB9rQ65Y

The United States men's and women's national teams called for U.S. Soccer to reconsider its ban on kneeling during the anthem Monday:

USWNT Players @USWNTPlayers

USWNT Player's statment re: @ussoccer's "Anthem Policy" https://t.co/Jd4OtRDhRJ

Molly Hensley-Clancy @mollyhc

Plus: I obtained emails showing that US Soccer initially said it wanted to punish any national team player who knelt with a three-game suspension — and *twelve months* for a second offense. No player was ever disciplined under the anthem policy. https://t.co/KBhyJT1ww1

Molly Hensley-Clancy @mollyhc

And here’s the statement from a lawyer for the men’s national team union, which also condemned the policy and demanded an apology from US Soccer: https://t.co/YimuzOACWR

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem before games in 2016, and the movement spread across the NFL and sports landscape. Kneeling in protest has reemerged as a topic of discussion after the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died in Minneapolis police custody May 25.

Floyd was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after since-fired officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the back of his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, while the three other officers with Chauvin were charged with aiding and abetting murder.

There have been protests across the globe, including in all 50 United States, demanding reform related to police brutality and systemic racial injustice.       

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IOC Says Rule Banning Protests Will Remain in Place at 2021 Tokyo Olympics - Bleacher Report
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