Aborigines, kneeling, rainbows: the Olympics are becoming political

The Australian soccer players hold up an Aboriginal flag, US star Megan Rapinoe & Co. kneel down - and the German hockey captain wants to wear her rainbow armband during the games. Two weeks after the end of the European Football Championship, which was also characterized by political symbols and gestures, there are signs of something similar for the Olympic Games in Tokyo: responsible athletes are positioning themselves and expressing themselves. Sport and politics are no longer an incompatible pair of opposites. At the start of the Olympic football tournament, players from the teams from Great Britain, Chile, USA, Sweden and New Zealand kneeled on the pitch for a moment to protest against racism and discrimination. New Zealand's opponents Australia stood arm in arm and held the Aboriginal flag up to the cameras. The flag with the black and red background and the yellow circle is considered an important symbol of Australia's indigenous people. The German team also looks beyond the oft-cited sporting horizon. What German hockey captain Nike Lorenz and many others have in common: athletes position themselves - and do so publicly more often than in the past. Following the example of national soccer goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Lorenz would like to wear a rainbow-colored armband during the game and not just during the warm-up - which is not allowed according to the Olympic charter. “Not all athletes have to do it, but those who want to speak out in favor of the rainbow flag or other messages that stand for peaceful coexistence, respect and tolerance should actually have the best stage for this here,” said athlete spokesman Max Hartung in Tokyo for the German Press Agency. The 31-year-old saber fencer explicitly encourages his colleagues to make clear statements. Rapinoe sees the opportunity “This is an opportunity for us to continue to use our voices and our platforms to talk about the things that affect us all in different ways,” said US soccer player Megan Rapinoe, who has been her most influential voice for many years Sport. “We are on the global stage, all eyes are on Tokyo in the next few weeks,” said the 36-year-old and emphasized: “Many who are here are not only thinking about their sport, but also about many others Things." The British captain Steph Houghton spoke emotionally of a “proud moment” and referred to the reaction of the Chileans, who simply spontaneously imitated them and also kneeled. These actions are possible because the IOC has relaxed Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits political gestures and statements on the playing field and at medal ceremonies. Protest actions such as kneeling or raising a fist are now possible before the start of a competition, but are still prohibited on winners' podiums afterwards. The associations also have the right of veto. The World Swimming Federation Fina has banned all athletes from making any political gestures or signs of protest at the edge of the pool. Captain's armband in rainbow colors Nike Lorenz would like to play with a captain's armband in rainbow colors, as she has done for months and recently in some games at the European Championships. But the German Olympic Sports Confederation in the person of its boss Alfons Hörmann says: “We consider a rainbow signal during warm-up to be acceptable, but not during competition because it would violate existing IOC rules.” But what works in any case: “ “I can then hold it up to the camera à la Manuel Neuer in the interview,” Nike Lorenz recently told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. As welcome as most athletes find the adjusted rule, not everyone wants to actively implement it. “I think it’s cool that the rule has been softened,” said beach volleyball vice world champion Clemens Wickler to the German Press Agency on Thursday in Tokyo. But he didn't plan anything with his partner Julius Thole. “We definitely support that, but the focus is on our own competitions. We’re trying to put all our energy into it,” said Wickler. Long jump world champion Malaika Mihambo also thinks it's "very nice when athletes do that, when they stand up for greater values that are sometimes simply forgotten." However, she herself “cannot get used to these grand gestures. This doesn’t feel like me right now,” she said. IOC is now also there And the organizers also seem to be a bit confused. On Wednesday, none of the images of the kneeling players were shown on the Olympics' or IOC's social media channels. A day later, the Rings organization pointed out that the images had been made available to the rights holders and could therefore have been shown on television worldwide. In the future, such moments will also be shown on their own platforms.

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Aborigines, kneeling, rainbows: the Olympics are becoming political

Rainbow ties and kneeling or political statements and gestures: What caused a stir at the European Football Championship seems to be continuing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The footballers start with strong symbolic power.

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