John Carlos et des athlètes américains demandent au CIO plus de liberté d'expression aux JO - France 24

Los Angeles (AFP)

Des sportifs américains et l'emblématique John Carlos, exclu des Jeux olympiques de Mexico en 1968 pour avoir levé le poing contre la ségrégation raciale, ont appelé le CIO à supprimer les règles interdisant aux athlètes de manifester leurs opinions politiques, religieuses ou raciales pendant les Jeux.

"Athletes will not be silenced any longer," the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Athletes' Council wrote on Saturday, teaming up with Carlos, who was kicked out of the Olympics after raising his gloved fist in support of Black Power, with his compatriot Tommie Smith, on the 200m podium.

"Carlos and Smith have risked everything to defend human rights and their convictions, and they continue to inspire each generation. It is time that the Olympic and Paralympic movements honor their courage rather than denounce their actions," urged signatories.

"The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees cannot continue to punish or dismiss the athletes who speak in defense of what they believe in, especially when these convictions embody the objectives of Olympism," it is still affirmed.

As a result, the USOPC calls on sporting bodies to "transparent collaboration" with athletes and groups of athletes.

The current rules of the International Olympic Committee prohibit any "political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda" at the Games.

The letter on Saturday was sent in a burning context of protests, in the United States and around the world, against social injustices after the tragic death of George Floyd, a month ago in Minneapolis.

The 46-year-old black man did not survive his arrest after a white policeman pressed his knee to his neck for more than eight minutes.

On June 9, the USOPC announced that it would challenge the rules prohibiting athletes from demonstrating politically at the Olympics, after hearing testimony from dozens of them and their proposals to combat racism.

But in 2019, hammer thrower Gwen Berry and fencer Race Imboden were still sanctioned by the USOPC after protesting racial injustice at the Pan American Games in Lima.

© 2020 AFP