In the piece, where she mourns the cultural-annihilation San Francisco has faced since the birth of Big Tech, she quotes PayPal founder Peter Thiel who wrote in 2009, “I stand against confiscatory taxes, totalitarian collectives and the ideology of the inevitability of death of every individual.” 

Thiel recently demonstrated his libertarian agendas by signing on as an investor in the privately funded drug-friendly sports contest, The Enchanted Games.

The competition, which describes itself as “the modern reinvention of the Olympic Games that does not have drug testing,” is headed by Aron D’Souza, Thiel’s former lawyer. The backers of The Enchanted Games believe athletes should be allowed, encouraged even, to use every advantage they can to secure success: they should take as much performance enhancement drugs as they want — all in the name of becoming better, stronger, faster. They believe that banning performance enhancements is stifling scientific innovation. 

The Games will not test athletes for drugs or any performance enhancers at its events, because it “embra[ces] ways science and technology can enhance human performance,” D’Souza, president of the Enhanced Games, said in the statement. 

“The Enhanced Movement believes in the medical and scientific process of elevating humanity to its full potential, through community of committed athletes.”

“[We] see the vision of a new model of sports, that openly celebrates scientific innovation and honestly represents the use of performance enhancements in sports today.” 

The Games will focus on individual sports across athletics, aquatics, combat, gymnastics and strength. 

“By focusing on world records in popular sports such as track and field, swimming, gymnastics, weight lifting and combat sports, we can eliminate wasteful infrastructure spending and reinvest to fairly pay all athletes,” D’Souza said. 

“In the era of accelerating technological and scientific change, the world needs a sporting event that embraces the future, particularly advances in medical science.” 

But what’s really going on here? Who are the people behind this contest? And what are they really trying to do? 

It’s a men’s club

The Enchanted Games is backed by the world’s richest venture capitalists. We have Peter Thiel, the conservative tech billionaire and founder of companies such as Palantir, which monitors immigrants for the Department of Homeland Security in the US. Thiel has had a long history of defying public safety and policy regulations. He was also one of the early investors of Facebook. 

There’s Christian Angermayer, founder of Apeiron Investment Group — a private investment company with a biotech portfolio that includes Atai Life Science, who are currently developing a rapid-acting anti-depressant for home use. Atai has backing from Thiel. 

Angermayer is a big name in the psychedelic industry — he’s been open about how taking mushrooms since 2015 has changed the course of his life. 

He described The Enhanced Games as having “forward-thinking ethos”, and one that “…improves the safety and fairness of competition but also stimulates scientific breakthroughs and nurtures human advancement.”

“The Enhanced games will undoubtedly inspire the public’s imagination and reinforce the profound impact of science on human progress,” he said in a statement. 

Then we have Balaji Srinivasan, a cryptocurrency investor and former CTO of Coinbase, who has been described as a polymath and angel investor who believes that tech has the power to eventually initiate a nation-free world. 

Out of the eleven individuals on the leadership team, there’s one woman — Jodhi Ramsden-Mavric, who is listed as a creative assistant, and who has a background in the film industry. The six people on the company’s Scientific and Medical Advisory Commission come from various backgrounds, including a Harvard professor, a co-founder of OxWash (sustainable commercial laundry service-providers) and a naturopathic doctor. Two are women.

Thomas Rex Dolan, the 19-year old Victorian and Gen Z Party founder and president, is listed as head of executive operations. According to his LinkedIn page, Dolan is D’Souza’s godson. 

The Athletes Advisory Commission consists of five men and just one woman. On the games website, it explains that they “embrace[s] the inclusion of science in sports” and is “unencumbered by anachronistic legacy systems.”

I wonder how they can do this with an organisation that clearly lacks the most basic form of diversity?

Sketchy on the details 

Since the games started making headlines last month, many people have been left scratching their heads. The organisation hasn’t been clear about some details. 

For one, it has declared that it will pay the athletes who compete in the games, but it hasn’t said exactly how much. 

Athletes will be paid a base salary and will compete for additional prize money. According to the website, a prize pool and compensation model will be announced later this year. 

Who gets to compete?

Calling themselves the “most inclusive sports league in history,” the organisers said all adults are eligible to compete in the games regardless of whether they are “natural, adaptive, or enhanced, an amateur or a former Olympian.” 

Registration is set to open later this year, though the actual dates for the contest have not been announced. 

It’s dangerous for the athletes 

The Games insist they will be the “safest international sporting event in history” and will ensure every athlete undergoes full medical screenings to monitor any risks.

But critics believe the competition’s agenda will risk both athletes’ health and sport itself. Two experts from the University of Canberra feared that athletes will turn into “injectable avatars” who will endanger their health by taking medicines that have been approved for human use.

“There’s no shortage of evidence demonstrating the dangers of pharmaceutical abuse for performance enhancement, let alone what might happen when used in experimental combinations and dosages,” Professor Catherine Ordway said last week.

“Elite sport is not conducted on a level playing field. Access to money, knowledge, power and technology already gives some athletes an edge over others, and the Enhanced Games would exacerbate these inequalities.”

Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), called the games “farcical,” and that it would be “a dangerous clown show, not real sport.” 

Jamie Crain, CEO of Sports Medicine Australia, took aim at the games’ PR material, which runs on the “anything is possible with science” ideology, pitting “science” as the gateway towards human progress and excellence.

“Science is the process of experimenting and observing and recording results and adjusting accordingly to get a certain outcome or just to understand a topic,” Crain told the ABC.

“And in this context that means they’re going to be giving otherwise fit people experimental substances to see what the outcomes is in the hope it might make them faster or stronger. Is that good science? If it produces a fast athlete who ends up with medical complications down the line, you would argue, no, it is not good science.”

Former Olympic swimmer Kieren Perkins said he could not see “any responsible and ethical person thinking the Enhance Games is even remotely sensible”.

“As soon as you start to go down the murky slope of allowing these sorts of drugs to be involved in the system you are completely setting aside the athlete’s physical and mental wellbeing and prioritising commercial gains and that’s not a place we want to be,” Perkins, now the CEO of the Australian Sports Commission, said.

Last week, retired Olympic swimming medalist James Magnussen announced he would compete in The Enhanced Games to try to break the 50m record for a reported $1.6 million. 

His reason? Money. 

“To be completely transparent, the money is a huge part,” he told News Corp. “A $1.6 million Australian dollar prize is hard to ignore.”

They’re out to make money

The carefully worded PR materials from the games’ website spruce their mission to enhance the “the medical and scientific process of elevating humanity to its full potential.”

But clearly, when you’ve got the world’s richest men backing this, it’s clear the end game is generating money. According to some media reports, D’Souza has plans to hold the games annually and stream it on platforms like YouTube to garner revenue. 

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When Rahimi competed at last year’s Commonwealth Games in the UK, she was the first female Australian Muslim boxer to do so. She won a bronze medal in the featherweight division (57 kilograms). At the time, she said in an interview, “It will be amazing to be representing my country and also my community.”

“I’ll hopefully show the youth and everyone out there that everything is possible regardless of how you look, how you dress.”

The 27-year old Bankstown resident wears long sleeves and a full-length hijab under a protective headgear when she boxes. 

Before 2017, the year she began boxing, apparel restrictions were placed on female Muslim boxers. In 2019, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) amended its rules, allowing Muslim boxers to wear a hijab and full body cover in the ring.

Recently, she spoke to the Herald about the discomfort she feels competing in warmer climates. 

Rahimi competed in this year’s IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, which took place in New Delhi during the holy month of Ramadan. For Rahimi, abstaining from food and drink during the day was especially challenging. 

She went for her run in the mornings before dawn – “in order to keep up my training and water levels,” she said.

It was something she was limited to doing once a day. The former make-up artist said she was left feeling fatigued and drained, but that she was committed to her religion. “It’s part of my religion and so it’s important to me.”

Rahimi initially started boxing for fitness reasons, before discovering a deep passion for it. She discovered she had a natural talent for it and was motivated by attending a fight night. She started training and competed in her first fight in 2018.

Last month, Rahimi travelled to the capital of the Solomon Islands where she won gold. Reflecting on the experience of competing in Honiara’s heat, Rahimi said the temperatures were extremely hot and that the humidity was “insane.”

“As soon as I put the head cover on, I was dripping sweat. But, like with fasting and training, I adjust.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tina Rahimi – Boxer (@tinarahimii_)

Now, Rahimi is focusing on the Paris Olympics, which begin in July next year. On Instagram, she posted a clip of her fighting with a quote from Mike Tyson: “The temptation for greatness is the biggest drug in the world.”

She captioned the post, saying: “I’ve never ever been satisfied with my achievements. I’m not sure if thats a good thing at times but just because I’ve qualified for the Olympics, it doesn’t give me an excuse to settle.”

“Yes, Im obviously taking it a little easier to give my body the rest it needs. But knowing that I only have about 7/8 months till the Olympics really freaks me out ”

“Never let anyone make you feel that you’re not good enough or capable of achieving the things you want the most.”

Speaking about her current training routine in an interview, she said she is training twice a day, six days a week.

“I can’t wait to get to Paris and represent Australia,” she said. “I fell in love with [boxing] the moment I started. I didn’t want to stop. It felt so good. It has taken me this far.”

She will be joined on the team in Paris by Australia’s first two-time female boxing Olympian Caitlin Parker; Tiana Echegaray, Tyla McDonald and Marissa Williamson Pohlman. 

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Both England and Sweden– two of the biggest powerhouses in women’s football– have missed out on playing in the Olympics, which take place over July and August of next year.

Given these two teams beat the Matildas at the FIFA World Cup, Australian fans have been celebrating that, if the Matildas are able to qualify for the Olympics, their biggest rivals’ absence could mean a better chance at medaling. 

The Matildas are currently on track to qualify for the Olympics after three comfortable wins over Iran, Chinese Tapei and the Philippines. While the Tillies did lose two friendlies to Canada in the past week, their path to the 12-team competition at the Paris Olympics will be secured if they beat Uzbekistan in a two-legged playoff in February. 

This week, England lost to Scotland 6-0 on Wednesday (AEDT), kicking them out of the running for the Olympics. And for the first time since women’s football was introduced, Sweden missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after a 1-0 loss to Switzerland. 

Germany and the Netherlands have both booked spots at Europe’s Women’s Nations League finals to fight for spots at this year’s Olympics against France and the world champions, Spain. 

The semi-finals will take place in February and the two finalists head to the Paris competition. If France wins, the team taking third place will also progress since France is guaranteed a place as hosts of the Olympics. 

While fans will have to wait with bated breath to see how things turn out, an Olympic medal for the Matildas would only exacerbate the mass hype for women’s sport that their FIFA World Cup performance generated in Australia and around the world. 

For the first time in history, women’s sports is forecast to exceed US$1.28 billion in global revenues next year, according to financial analysts at Deloitte. And this year, the Australian National Dictionary Centre based at the Australian National University (ANU) declared the word “Matilda” as Word of the Year.

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“Our First Nations people, people with disabilities, women, men, different cultural backgrounds,” she told ABC. “A diverse team is only as good as the environment they work in … so I’ll absolutely be working on that.”

Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll said Hook is “an outstanding appointment into an absolutely crucial role.”

“This requires a CEO with exceptional financial acumen, the capacity to build teams and networks as well as manage a very complex stakeholder environment,” he said in a statement. “To these requirements you can add the creation of a culture that will enable the Brisbane Games to succeed.”

“We are very fortunate in having Cindy Hook ready to step up to this challenge with the calm assurance of a skilled and experienced leader.”

Hook has signed a four-year contract, though the Games are still nine and a half years away. 

She is currently a board member of Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and the Singapore Economic Development Board. 

The 58-year old US-born businesswoman led Deloitte’s Asia Pacific branch for almost three years before stepping down in June this year with the intention of retiring from corporate work.

Hook said her top priority is to ensure the Games are cost-neutral and ‘climate-positive’. 

“We’re basically forming a business and we’ve got to set the foundations that will serve us well for the next 10 years,” she said, adding that her background as an auditor and accounting graduate will help set this up. 

At a press conference earlier this week, Hook said, “I think if we work together and keep the end game in mind, we can deliver the best Games ever and really put Brisbane and South East Queensland on the map.”

Carroll agrees, adding his committee “looks forward to providing her with every support needed to deliver a Games that Australia will be proud of, and the world’s athletes will remember with great affection throughout their lives.”

Hook is no stranger to public scrutiny, though admits that accountability will be heightened in her new role. 

“My prior role had a level of media engagement and scrutiny, but nothing close to this,” she said.

“I’m a pretty transparent and open person and that’s how I plan to engage the media … but is it the part of the role that I’m most looking forward to … I wouldn’t say that.”

Andrew Liveris, who was appointed president of Brisbane Olympics in April, told ABC his new colleague had been a top pick among fifty highly qualified applicants around the world. 

“We needed an individual that knows what it takes to run a multi-billion-dollar business on time and on budget, as well as how to engage to the community, industry and the corporate sector,” Liveris said of Hook. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who is also the Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, called Hook’s appointment “a very significant step on our path to 2032”.

“This will be our Golden Age,” she said. “I look forward to continuing to work together on this once-in-lifetime opportunity for Queensland and Australia.”

Hook relocated to Brisbane earlier this month. She will commence her role as CEO in February.

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Clark was a member of the gold medal winning Australian water polo team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. After her sporting career, Clark diversified into the marketing and events space in the NFP sector, before moving into tech as the Senior Marketing Manager at BrainStorm.

Now, she’s been appointed the General Manager at BrainStorm, which is part of an industry that still lags when it comes to promoting women into senior management and leadership positions.

“It’s an honour to be appointed into the role of GM for Brainstorm Software. We have such a great team and I’m looking forward to growing the business more and more,” Clark said, reflecting on her appointment.

“I’ve held a few management roles in the past but this feels different, we’re a global company and the evolution seems endless.”

“I don’t take the role lightly, I know there is a lot involved in the position and I hope to represent not just BrainStorm Software well but women in the industry.”

In 2014, Clarke launched her own marketing and events agency, which was the catalyst for her move into the tech industry.

“I didn’t mean to fall into the tech industry and I wasn’t sure about it at the start as I didn’t think I was following my passion in helping people, however, BrainStorm doesn’t just create software, they help companies become better and that’s what I love most about it,” Clark said.

Ty Osborne, the owner of BrainStorm Software, said appointing Clark to the role was a “no brainer”.

“Jo has been with us almost since the beginning, she’s helped the company grow and was already at the forefront of management within the company, so it seemed like an easy decision,” Osborne said.

“It’s not about if you’re a male or female, it’s about who can do the best job and Jo was the perfect fit. It’s nice to see women moving to the forefront of our industry, we have six women working over both our Australia and Indian team engaged in all areas, marketing, management, tech, consulting and development.”

Clarke won her gold medal in water polo in 2000, the first year women’s water polo was included in the Olympics. She was the youngest member of the team, at age 21.

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Since 1998, netball has been played at the Commonwealth Games, and currently the game is played by over 20 million people across more than 80 countries.

Australia’s national team, the Diamonds, is currently ranked No.1 in the world and nationally netball is the biggest team sport for women and girls, played by over 1.2 million people.

Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said netball deserved to be considered as an Olympic sport.

“In such a challenging time, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have brought so much joy to households right across Australia,” Ryan said.

“We want our junior netballers to dream of Olympic glory in the sport they love.

“We want our netball fans, who are the proudest and most passionate supporters, to cheer on their favourite athletes as they compete in the green and gold with the whole world watching on.

“Our sport deserves to be played on the biggest stage.”

The push for inclusion in the Olympics comes after Sydney won its bid to host the 2027 Netball World Cup, an international meet that will see 16 teams compete for the world championship.

Australian Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich said the potential for netball to become an Olympic sport was exciting.

“It’s all the hidden stories that come around the Olympic Games that make it so significant,” Marinkovich said on Monday.  

“The strives, the struggles, and for us a sport, we’ve grown the sport and Australia has been a leader in that. Not only a leader in what we do in the domestic competition, but we have grown the sport internationally.

“To put our hand up and say our sport is at a point where it can be on the world stage in that environment is a phenomenal recognition of what so many people have done before us.”

Diamonds player Gretel Bueta said the idea was inspiring for future generations of netball players.

“It’s very, very exciting. I was doing the maths and unfortunately, I’d be too old,” she said.

“I still remember watching the 2000 Olympics, mum and dad taking us along when I was 7 and that sparked my interest in sport. It’s super exciting for 2032.”

In a statement, Netball Australia acknowledged that men’s participation in netball is increasing year-on-year, and there is a growing number of competitions being offered to men and boys.

Liz Nicholl, the World Netball President, said Australia’s push for Olympic inclusion as supported by all member nations.

“We are committed to exploring the potential with Netball Australia and ensuring that our case for inclusion adds significant value to this very special Olympic movement.”

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Lay, 48, won against Poland’s Qian Li in the women’s table tennis singles draw on Monday, and will proceed to the third round of competition.

“The coach kept saying ‘more patience, more patience’,” Lay told Table Tennis Australia, after the win. “It just feels amazing. She is a European champion, so I am so happy to have won.”

While Lay is now recognised as one of Australia’s most consistent and long-lasting Olympic athletes, her achievements over the years have flown under the radar. She made her Olympic debut in Sydney in 2000.

Most people won’t have heard of her, but 48-year-old Jian Fang Lay made it through to the 3rd round in the table tennis today. BUT more impressively this is her 6th #olympics, equalling the most ever by an Australian female pic.twitter.com/RqRw5ZBiAg

— James Mottershead (@mottersjames) July 26, 2021

Born in China before moving to Australian in 1994, Lay is one truly one of the nation’s greats in table tennis. She has won 13 international competition medals, including 7 Commonwealth Games medals, 24 Oceania titles and 30 national titles.

Before the Games began, Ian Chesterman, Chef de Mission for the Australian Olympic team, said her achievements are inspiring.

“What a fantastic Olympic milestone to announce Jian to her sixth Olympic Games,” Chesterman said.

“To make one Olympics is a special achievement. To stay at the top of your game for decades to make six Olympics is a truly rare feat.

“Congratulations to Jian on reaching this next chapter in your Olympic career and to your family, coaches, supporters, friends and teammates who will no doubt be cheering you on in Tokyo from back home.”

Jian Fang Lay will take on Germany’s Han Ying at 4.30pm on today (Tuesday), in Round 3 of the women’s table tennis singles. Don’t miss it!

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But he’s now issued an apology and is facing pressure to resign, after declaring this week that board meetings with women take longer because women talk too much.

“If we increase the number of female board members, we have to make sure their speaking time is restricted somewhat, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying,” the Japanese Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported him as saying during an online board meeting.

“We have about seven women at the organising committee but everyone understands their place,” he said.

He’s also reported as saying: “Women are very competitive. When one of them raises her hand, they probably think they have to say something, too. And then everyone says something.”

The comments came when the lack of women on the board was brought up.

The 25 person Japanese Olympic Committe board set a 40% female target it set for itself back in 2019, requiring it to double its female representation.

The statement made at the Japan Olympic Committee was an inappropriate expression, contrary to the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics,” Mori said Thursday. “I am deeply remorseful. I would like to withdraw the statement. I would like to apologize for any unpleasant feelings.”

After apologising for the comments overnight, the 83 year old add that he has no plans on resigning. And The International Olympic Committee has said it believes the “issue closed” following Mori’s retraction.

“I am not thinking to resign,” Mori said during the press conference. “I have been working hard and helped devotedly for seven years. I will not be stepping down.”

But others won’t be so quick to forget the matter. Mori who says his own wife and daughter gave him a “scolding” over the sexist comments, is facing pressure from former athletes and other high profile people in the sporting community, with the hashtag saying “Mori, please resign” trending in Japan.

“Last night, my wife gave me a thorough scolding,” he told Japanese newspaper the Mainichi. “She said: ‘You’ve said something bad again, haven’t you? I’m going to have to suffer again because you’ve antagonised women.’ This morning, my daughter and granddaughter scolded me as well.”

Japan’s Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto has reiterated the principles of the Olympics, saying she wants to hold “thorough discussions” with Mori.

“The Olympics’ fundamental principle is to promote women’s advancement in sport at all levels and organisations in order to realise gender equality,” local media reports.

He is also under pressure elsewhere, with polls revealing the Japanese public are not all that keen on hosting an Olympic Games during a pandemic.

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The 19-year-old Olympic hopeful clocked a time of 1 minute 58.94, surpassing a 6-year record of 1:59.23 set by Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu in 2014.

“Short course is something we don’t get to do very often so I was excited to see what I could put up after some solid training this year,” McKeown said after the swim.

“I headed over to my teammates and my coach and they said ‘you just got a world record’ and I was like, ‘what?’. I didn’t actually know until a few minutes later.

“It feels good and definitely different in a year where I have had my ups and downs. It’s the hardest year that I’ve gone through with my father passing away in August. He has been a motivation behind me so I just want to give it my best while I can.”

The short course championships were held virtually this year due to the pandemic, with swimmers competing at different venues around Australia.

In long course, McKeown has previously won gold in the 50m backstroke, silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m at the Youth Olympic Games, held in 2018 in Buenos Aires. She had more success last year, claiming the senior world championships silvers in the 200m backstroke and 4x100m medley, in South Korea.

SC WORLD RECORD

Kaylee McKeown clocked a blistering time of 1:58.94 to knock off Hungarian Katinka Hosszu’s 2014 world record (1:59.23) in the Women’s 200m backstroke #VirtualShortCourse pic.twitter.com/Xyj2Df13u4

— Swimming Australia (@SwimmingAUS) November 28, 2020

Earlier this month, McKeown broke Australian records in the long course 100m and 200m backstroke in Brisbane.

She is one of the youngest members of the Dolphins team, having made her debut at age 15 after qualifying for the World Championships in 2017.

With the Olympics postponed until next year in Tokyo, McKeown has her sights firmly set on representing Australia at the event.

“In Australia, we have some of the top women in the world racing in my events, so it’s tough,” she told the Olympic website last month.

“But being able to go to the Olympic Games is what I’ve been dreaming of.”

***

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has long tried to insulate itself from politics in society, but wider issues have always been a part of sport – including the Olympics.

Sometimes political statements have been subtle and accommodated by the IOC, such as Cathy Freeman’s victory lap at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with the Aboriginal and Australian flags draped on her shoulders — a symbol of hope for reconciliation.

The Olympics have, of course, also been subject to more confronting actions: Nazi salutes at the 1936 Berlin Games, political boycotts of the 1980 and 1984 Games and a terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Games.

While the IOC advocates for political neutrality, the Olympics are inherently contested terrain — a celebration of athleticism and, by virtue of national teams, a stage for geopolitical triumphs and tensions.

Athletes are obviously individuals and, increasingly, many are seeking a voice on matters that transcend sport, such as racism and sexism. Last month, athletes used their collective power to bring every US professional league to a standstill for a day to protest the police shooting of a Black man.

In this new era of political activism, the IOC is being provoked to reevaluate its staunchly apolitical stance. Just how the movement will allow activism — in what forms and what types — remains a big question.

Read more: Athletes won’t stay silent on politics anymore. But will leagues support their protests if it costs them real money?

Proposed guidelines on political expression

At the centre of the debate is Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which purports to “protect the neutrality of sport and the Olympic Games”, stating

no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in the Olympic areas.

Protests and demonstrations are therefore forbidden at all Olympic venues and ceremonies.

As athlete activism has become more visible in recent years, the IOC sought to revise its guidelines around protests for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Read more: Sit on hands or take a stand: why athletes have always been political players

This followed several medal podium protests by athletes outside the games, including Australian swimmer Mack Horton refusing to stand beside China’s Sun Yang at the world championships.

The new guidelines are intended to set parameters for what is allowed and what isn’t. Olympic athletes are entitled to “express their opinions”, but not during competitions or at the Olympic Village, medal ceremonies and other official ceremonies. This is allowed elsewhere: press conferences, team meetings and social media.

So, on the face of it, athletes have more liberties: their use of social media, for example, is less constrained than in the past.

No clear line in the sand

As ever, though, the devil is in the detail. The new guidelines also outline what constitutes unacceptable dissent: displaying political messaging (such as signs or armbands), gestures of a political nature (hand gestures or kneeling) and refusing to follow ceremony protocol.

From the perspective of the IOC, there is a clear demarcation between what constitutes a protest and expressing one’s views.

But athletes have been left confused — and continue to feel constrained by the new rules. For example, the rule would seem to allow an athlete to express support for Black Lives Matter at a press conference — but not wear a BLM t-shirt. Is one considered an expression of solidarity against racism, the other a political protest?

And what if athletes kneel or raise a fist during a medal ceremony — a very common form of protest in sports today? The IOC is asserting that actions like these will be punished.

Frustratingly, the revised guidelines are not only imprecise, the penalties arising from breaches are vague – to be decided on a “case-by-case basis as necessary”.

Of course, one must also consider the flip side. Freedom to speak on a global stage may also mean athletes advocating for causes that do not align with themes the IOC endorses, such as racial or gender equality.

As Chelsey Gotell, chairperson of the International Paralympic Committee’s athletes’ council, put it,

We all know that athlete protests at the games is something of a Pandora’s box. The last thing we want to do is create a free-for-all at the games where [Paralympic] athletes are free to protest on any subject they like, including ones the wider world will find repulsive.

Punishing or removing athletes who speak up

Perhaps not surprisingly, the revised guidelines have received a mixed reaction from athletes. Global Athlete, an alliance advocating for athletes’ rights, claims Rule 50 breaches article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference.

Taking this cue, Canadian human rights lawyer and Olympian Nikki Dryden argues bans on protest constitute an unreasonable denial of freedoms, which should be vigorously resisted.

US Olympians have been especially outspoken, saying in a letter

The IOC … cannot continue on the path of punishing or removing athletes who speak up for what they believe in, especially when those beliefs exemplify the goals of Olympism.

In a slight departure from that view, an Australian Olympic Committee survey of athletes revealed most agreed with barring protests from competition and the podium, but there was an appetite for political expression beyond that.

The Olympics as a force for positive change

The IOC Athletes’ Commission is now consulting with athletes globally on different ways Olympians can express themselves in a “dignified way”, with a recommendation on Rule 50 expected in early 2021.

Whatever the IOC decides, one thing is clear: the “athlete voice” is more potent than ever. The recent athlete support for Black Lives Matter is a case in point. Sport should be aligned with causes like the fight against racism.

The Olympics — like sport generally — can also be a place where advocacy actually leads to positive change.

For example, under Saudi Arabian law, women were once not permitted to participate at the Olympics. However, the IOC pressured the Saudi Olympic Committee to send female athletes to the Olympics, and in 2012 its ban on women competitors was lifted.

We only need to think back to Freeman’s victory lap at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as an example of the power of the Olympic stage to make a positive statement. Without this type of wider community engagement, sport has limited meaning. Freeman gave premium value to that Olympic moment — and other athletes can, too.

Michelle O’Shea, Senior Lecturer Management, Western Sydney University; Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney; Hazel Maxwell, Senior Lecturer – Health, University of Tasmania, and Megan Stronach, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The survey, from the Australian Olympic Committee, comes as Rule 50.2 has prohibited Olympians from protesting in any form. The rule states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

80 percent of past, current, and aspiring Australian Olympians surveyed believed protests on the field of play would detract from performances or experiences of other athletes.

Asked if the Olympics should be a stage for athletes to “express their views on politics, religion, sexuality, racism, gender and other forms of discrimination”, 40.93 per cent of respondents said the Games should not be a place where athletes express their views. 39.1 per cent said it depended on the circumstances.

When asked if they would personally consider protesting on the field of play or on the podium, 30 per cent said they would still consider it – knowing they would be breaching Rule 50. This finding means that despite the ban, some Australian athletes may participate in some form of protest at the Tokyo Games, reflecting a growing trend of athletes who have taken a knee at recent sporting events.

There’s also a clear generational shift among Australian athletes, with present-day athletes more likely to believe that the Games is a platform for self-expression.

“While just over 40% of athletes more broadly felt there was no place for self-expression or protest at the Games, if you look at athletes from the 2010’s, that figure of those against falls away to just 19 percent,” AOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Steve Hooker said.

“Nevertheless, the majority that younger group felt opportunities in social media and media conferences were preferable to protest on the field of play or Olympic podium.”

In terms of discrimination on the field of play, 26 per cent of surveyed athletes believed it existed. Female athletes were more likely than men to say discrimination existed on the field of play in their sport.

In June, former Olympian Nova Peris joined the call for the ban on athletes protesting at the Games to be overturned, saying “athletes should not be silenced.”  Peris was the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal as a member of the Hockeyroos.

“As the first torchbearer [before the Sydney Olympics] I ran bare-footed because I wanted to tell the world about Aboriginal Australia but I also wanted to tell the world that there’s a history of injustices here. That’s why I ran with no shoes on,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time.

Peris has also said there should be “a black voice” on the Australian Olympic Committee’s athletes’ commission, which does not have an Indigenous member. The commission is the elected body that advises the AOC on Olympic issues from an athlete’s perspective.

“If you’re going to be serious about human equality you need to have a representation of people to have a lived experience of what it means to be looked at through the eyes of inequality,” she said.

The survey revealed that some athletes suggested they would like the AOC to provide education opportunities for athletes in relation to Indigenous history in both the Olympic Village and outside of games time.

Some recommendations have been made to the AOC Executive and Tokyo 2020 Team Executive in light of the survey. These include:

• Athletes would like access to AOC education programs pre-Games on Rule 50.2, particularly in relation to self-expression on social media and in interviews
• Athletes would like the AOC to provide education opportunities in relation to Indigenous history both in the Olympic Village and outside of games time
• Consideration should be given to the type of guidance, counselling and support the AOC would offer an Australian athlete who expresses views in a way that breaches Rule 50.2 and subsequently faces sanction for their actions

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Earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee published guidelines banning any protests at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Taking a knee, raising a fist or refusing to follow protocol at medal ceremonies are some of the actions that have been prohibited.

Peris’ call to overturn the contentious Rule 50 joins a growing movement that wants to see athletes able to use their platform at the Olympics to speak out against racism.

In recent days, former US track athlete and renowned Olympic protestor John Carlos put his name on a letter to the IOC, along with other US athletes, calling for the rule to be rolled back.

In 1968, Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists on the medal podium at the Mexico City Olympics, to protest racial inequality.

“Carlos and Smith risked everything to stand for human rights and what they believed in, and they continue to inspire generation after generation to do the same,” the letter said.

“It is time for the Olympic and Paralympic movement to honor their bravery rather than denounce their actions.”

Nova Peris told the Sydney Morning Herald, “athletes shouldn’t be silenced.”

“We’re not just jumping on the American bandwagon. We as Aboriginal people still suffer systemic racism in this country,” she said. “That’s why people took to the streets [for the Black Lives Matter protests].

Peris is one of Australia’s most celebrated athletes, and one of few athletes internationally to compete across different sports. As well as winning gold as part of the Hockeyroos, she has had an esteemed career in athletics, winning the 200m and 4x100m gold medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics she reached the semi-finals of the 400m and was a member of Australia’s 4 x 400m relay team.

In 2013, she became the first Indigenous woman elected to federal parliament, as a Senator for the Northern Territory.

“As the first torchbearer [before the Sydney Olympics] I ran bare-footed because I wanted to tell the world about Aboriginal Australia but I also wanted to tell the world that there’s a history of injustices here. That’s why I ran with no shoes on.”

Peris has also called for the addition of a “black voice” to the Australian Olympic Committee’s athletes commission. The elected body that advises the AOC on Olympic issues from an athlete’s perspective and is chaired by Steve Hooker, does not have an Indigenous member.

“I can tell you now that a few of us were contacted [about Rule 50] … Steve Hooker, who’s on that commission, reached out and said ‘how can we support you? What can we say?” Peris told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Well, if you had a black voice on there you wouldn’t have to be reaching out and saying ‘how do we stand for humanity?’.

“If you’re going to be serious about human equality you need to have a representation of people to have a lived experience of what it means to be looked at through the eyes of inequality.”

This is an artists impression of what my statue will look like if I can raise the 30k! The go fund me link is here https://t.co/NIKMe0OIGi

Even if you can only afford $5 or $10 I’d love your support! @JandamarraCadd is coming on board and partnering with the artists too! pic.twitter.com/l3nopzJdIf

— Nova Peris OAM OLY (@NovaPeris) June 19, 2020

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