Athletes to be banned from protests at Tokyo olympics

Podium protests in support of racial equality, will be punished at the upcoming olympic games.

No high-fives and now, no kneeling.

Podium protests in support of racial equality, will be outlawed at the upcoming olympic games.

So, no taking a knee or lifting a fist, for any athlete lucky enough to take home a medal.

The International Olympic Committee is maintaining its ban on athletes protests inside stadiums, at ceremonies, and on podiums.

It says it wants to keep politics, religion, and racial propaganda out of the games.

Calls to change the rule have ramped up in recent months.. on the back of the black lives matter movement.

The World Athletics President thinks that athletes should have the right to make gestures of political protest during the Games.

An IOC survey found that 70 per cent of athletes think its in-appropriate to protest insides stadiums and ceremonies.

“I would not want something to distract from my competition and take away from that. That is how I still feel today,”

Kirsty Coventry, a former Olympic swimming champion for Zimbabwe, said in an online presentation.

But the main concern in Japan is the latest spike in covid-infections across the country, particularly in Osaka and Tokyo.

The Japanese government is considering a state of emergency, even though the olympics committee says it’s unrelated to the July games.

No cheering or protests, the preparation for the most tightly controlled Olympics is running ahead.