PROTEST &SPORT52 INSIDE HISTORY
SHUT UP ANDDRIBBLE?By Rachel Lee PerezImages: Nationaal Archief, Flickr, Creative CommonsIt was October 16, 1968. Two Americanathletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos,had just won gold and bronze medals inthe 200-meter sprint at the SummerOlympics in Mexico City. Both athletes,with black gloves on their hands, liftedtheir fists up into the air as the UnitedStates National Anthem played over thegrand speakers. This act of protest onbehalf of human rights would lead to theexpulsion of both athletes involved. Thisdemonstration would become but one ina series of demonstrations by athletesthroughout the ages to bring awarenessto racial and social injustice.The Summer Olympics of 1968 took placeonly months after the assassination of civilrights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Inaddition to heightened racial tension,there were also regular proteststhroughout the United States stemmingfrom differing opinions in regard to theVietnam War.Leading up to the Olympics, Smith andCarlos became part of an organizationcalled the Olympic Project for HumanRights (OPHR) which protested againstracial segregation in sports, calling forequal treatment of Black athletes and theemployment of more Black coaches. At atime when Black athletes like JackieRobinson were breaking through thewhite barrier in professional sports, theOPHR sought to remind Americans thatthese accomplishments did not mean thatracial inequality no longer existed withinsports. Initially, the OPHR intended toboycott the Olympics altogether but Blackathletes like Smith and Carlos choseinstead to compete in the Games and touse their platform as a way to furtherpush the project’s objectives.On October 16, 1968, Smith won the200-meter sprint and set a world recordof 19.38 seconds. Following shortlybehind him at 20.06 seconds cameAustralian athlete, Peter Norman. Andfinally, in third place at 20.10 secondscame Carlos. As the three athletes waitedto take the podium, they talked amongthemselves about how they would usetheir platform to bring awareness to thehuman rights cause. Smith and Carlosremoved their shoes to represent Blackpoverty, wore beads around their necksto represent lynching, and donned ablack glove on one hand to representtheir solidarity with oppressed Blackpeople around the world. The men hadeach initially planned to wear blackgloves on both hands but Carlos realizedbefore taking the podium that he had lefthis pair back at the Olympic Village.Norman, the white Australian athlete thathad taken second place, suggested thatCarlos wear one of Smith’s gloves. This iswhy, when you see the iconic picture ofSmith and Carlos with their gloved fists inthe air, Smith is seen raising his righthand and Carlos is seen raising his left.Although Norman did not raise his fistalong with his fellow athletes, he did dona badge for the OPHR. Similar to theUnited States, Australia was also in themidst of their own awakening regardingracial discrimination. With policiesbeginning in 1901 and some running allthe way through 1973, Australia wasunder the legislation of White AustraliaPolicy which essentially halted all non-European immigration into the countryand further limited the rights of nonwhitepeople. In demonstration of hisprotest of racism within his own country,Norman stood in solidarity with his fellowathletes.When they took the podium and theStar Spangled Banner began, theAmerican athletes turned toward theUnited States flag, bowed their heads,and lifted their gloved fists. This imagewould go down in History and wouldbecome one of the most iconic andmost influential incidents in sportsHistory. In response to thisdemonstration, the audience booedand hissed.The men were rushed from thestadium with Olympic officials hot ontheir heels. Shortly after what Olympicofficials deemed to be too much of apolitical statement for a setting that isgenerally intended to be apolitical, thePresident of the International OlympicCommittee, Avery Brundage, orderedfor the suspension of Smith and Carlos.Interestingly, Brundage had served asthe President of the United States (US)Olympic Committee during the 1936Games and had not raised objectionsto the Nazi salutes used there. Whilethe US Olympic Committee ignored thedemands of suspension, they dideventually expel both Smith and Carlosfrom the Games.When Smith and Carlos returned to theUnited States, they faced backlash andeven death threats. But while Smithand Carlos would eventually return tosports, both playing for the NationalFootball League (NFL) and Carlos eveneventually working with the 1984Summer Olympics OrganizingCommittee, Australian Silver MedalistPeter Norman would not have a similarfate. For his part in the demonstration,Norman was nearly entirely ostracizedfrom the sporting community. He wasvilified in the media and was rejectedINSIDE HISTORY 53
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