Olympic chief warns of ‘divisive’ athletes’ protests in Tokyo

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The head of the International Olympic Committee has warned athletes against political protests at the upcoming Tokyo Games, calling on them to avoid “divisive” statements that could cast a shadow over the world’s biggest sporting event.

Thomas Bach told the Financial Times that the games, which start next Friday, will be “by far the most complex and challenging of all”, having been delayed by a year due to the pandemic and only taking place with strict restrictions related to the coronavirus.

But the IOC president, Germany’s former Olympic fencing champion, also wants to avoid controversies, saying he will not support the activity of athletes during the games’ most prestigious events.

“Coronation and medal ceremonies are not made . . . for a political demonstration or otherwise,” Bach said. “They are made to honor athletes and medalists for their sporting achievement, not for them. [views]. “

Japan’s Naomi Osaka wears a face mask during the 2020 US Open to draw attention to the shooting of African-American Ahmed Arbery in Georgia © Al Bello / Getty Images

Over the past year, amid a global reckoning of racial and social injustice, athletes have been at the forefront of protest movements.

European football players and American basketball players “ride” before games in a gesture against racism. Naomi Osaka, the Japanese tennis star that Tokyo organizers hope to present as the global face of the Games, has also been a vocal critic of police brutality.

In recent weeks, the International Olympic Committee has revised its rules to allow for some dissent, such as in press conferences and on social media. But protests are still prohibited on the field of play, particularly on the medal stands where one of the most famous athletes’ protests of all time took place – the raised fists of American runners Tommy Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Games.

“The task is to bring the whole world together in one place and to compete peacefully with each other,” Bach said. “This you would never manage if the games [became] controversial.”

IOC President Thomas Bach is a former German fencing champion © Behrouz Mehri / Pool / AFP via Getty Images

Olympic officials say in private sessions that curbing dissent will be impossible to enforce. Such actions have already occurred in the run-up to Tokyo, such as during the US Olympic Trials last month when hammer thrower Gwen Berry turned her back on the US flag and rolled a T-shirt over her head that read “Active Athlete.”

This week, the British women’s soccer team said, it will put a knee before the Olympic games.

Political protests are just one of the difficult issues facing the organizers. This event is not very popular with the citizens of Tokyo, according to recent polls. There has been public outrage over cases of Olympic officials violating mask-wearing rules in a city under the state of emergency for the Games.

About 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympic athletes will travel to the Japanese capital in the coming weeks, along with 41,000 coaches, judges and other officials. They will stay in a “bubble” away from the city crowd. Visitors from outside are prohibited and the event will be held without an audience in expensive Tokyo stadiums.

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Bach defended the decision to continue the games with such restrictions, saying it would be a “massive show for Japan” for billions of viewers on television, as well as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of the contenders.

He dismissed the notion that the games would go ahead to protect broadcast and sponsorship income, which was worth $5.7 billion in the four years leading up to the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.

The IOC president said it was financially wise to cancel the Games and rely on pandemic insurance policies, but that “we will not abandon the athletes”.

In recent weeks, other major sporting events, such as the European Football Championship, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, and even baseball games in Japan have been held in front of large crowds.

English footballers take a knee ahead of the Euro 2020 match © Justin Tallis / EPA / Shutterstock

Bach admitted he was “unhappy” that Japanese authorities had decided to ban spectators but added: “We supported this decision…because we believe it is a responsible decision to ensure the safety of the Olympic Games.” The event consists of 28 different sports taking place in 17 days across Japan.

To help reduce the chances of a coronavirus outbreak, the International Olympic Committee has struck deals with drugmaker Pfizer and the Chinese government to ensure about 85 percent of athletes, coaches and team officials are vaccinated before they reach Tokyo. Organizers are also planning to run hundreds of thousands of daily Covid-19 tests on athletes.

Bach said a complex plan is in place that could mean multiple medals being handed out at an event disrupted by positive tests. In the scenario in which a player is unable to compete in the final match after a positive result or has been forced into self-isolation, they will receive the lowest achievable rank in that final.

In martial arts such as boxing and karate, this may mean two athletes receive a silver medal – one for the person who qualified for the final but was unable to compete, and the other for the athlete who has already lost the gold medal match. This would ‘do justice’ [both] Athletes should be isolated as one.”

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