An action with great impact: Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right) in Mexico in 1968
Image: dpa
Do we really want to open the door to political messages in sport? That would be fatal. Because that way, such statements would also get a stage that we shouldn’t allow the big performance under any circumstances. A guest post.
The author is a founding member of the Greens, Minister a. D., advisor to the International Olympic Committee, was Chairman of the Board of the German Olympic Sports Confederation from 2006 to 2017 and has been President of Deutscher Galopp since 2018.
The black-gloved fists raised to the sky of John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the award ceremony for the 200-meter run in Mexico in 1968 are still one of the most striking moments in Olympic history. That is why it is remembered in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. They are not suitable as models. The outstanding effect of the gesture is based on its first time and offensive boldness. The two of them deliberately broke the rule and were punished for it.
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