Taking the knee banned at Tokyo Olympics

[fatsculler]

https://www.skysports.com/olympics/news ... o-olympics

Decided by the athletes themselves

[oldman]

Decided by some athletes who responded to a poll.
There are more than 11,000 athletes in the games.
How did the poll break along national lines? Were the answers made public to the NOCs?

[sandor]

The full published results (rather than a news article about them) have much more data broken down per country, per question, etc.

Considering pollsters try to predict elections with a smaller sample size of a much larger population, the 3,500 size seems appropriate.

The breakdown of countries with the highest % of discomfort with athletes "to have an opportunity to demonstrate or to express their individual views on political issues and other topics" feels in line with the world - China & Russia lead the way.

Screen Shot 2021-04-23 at 4.11.11 AM.jpg (169.79 KiB) Viewed 1330 times

The survey report from Publicis Sport & Entertainment
https://www.olympic.org/athlete365/app/ ... on-PSE.pdf

The full IOC AC Athlete Expression report
https://www.olympic.org/athlete365/app/ ... 4.2021.pdf

[sandor]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56858863

The problem is that sport and politics often cross.

When does a uniform become a statement?


I think sport should be sport and there is joy & greatness in that.
But the bureaucracy backing the athletes can sow very bad things.

I don't have a stance on the protests, but i am tired of hearing "shut up & play" - that is how exceedingly bad things are allowed to go on for generations of athletes (US Gymnastics, for example)

[Big Koala VI]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56858863

The problem is that sport and politics often cross.

When does a uniform become a statement?


I think sport should be sport and there is joy & greatness in that.
But the bureaucracy backing the athletes can sow very bad things.

I don't have a stance on the protests, but i am tired of hearing "shut up & play" - that is how exceedingly bad things are allowed to go on for generations of athletes (US Gymnastics, for example)

These are great points. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Also, is it REALLY a "political" statement to OPPOSE travelling to, competing in, and thereby passively supporting a government that is presently and actively committing a genocide of a religious/ethnic minority citizenry?

I would argue that going and competing in China's national capital in 2022 *IS* a political statement. A political statement that says: getting to compete in a sport of my choosing is MUCH more important than the millions of victims of an active genocide.

[loblaw]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56858863

The problem is that sport and politics often cross.

When does a uniform become a statement?


I think sport should be sport and there is joy & greatness in that.
But the bureaucracy backing the athletes can sow very bad things.

I don't have a stance on the protests, but i am tired of hearing "shut up & play" - that is how exceedingly bad things are allowed to go on for generations of athletes (US Gymnastics, for example)

These are great points. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Also, is it REALLY a "political" statement to OPPOSE travelling to, competing in, and thereby passively supporting a government that is presently and actively committing a genocide of a religious/ethnic minority citizenry?

I would argue that going and competing in China's national capital in 2022 *IS* a political statement. A political statement that says: getting to compete in a sport of my choosing is MUCH more important than the millions of victims of an active genocide.

Yeah but McDavid, McKinnon, Crosby etc !?! I mean is it really millions or just hundreds of thousands?

[Big Koala VI]

Yeah but McDavid, McKinnon, Crosby etc !?! I mean is it really millions or just hundreds of thousands?

(Because it's only over text, I can't tell the tone of this that well :/ but I shall assume that it was made in good faith!)
There are officially 12.8 Million Uyghurs in China. And if one uses a liberal definition of 'genocide', then I would say that a person is a victim of genocide if they are displaced, re-located, and/or re-educated within a broader genocide.

No doubt that that lineup would be fun to watch [skates and puck go brrrrr], but it doesn't *have* to be in a certain location.

[loblaw]

Yeah but McDavid, McKinnon, Crosby etc !?! I mean is it really millions or just hundreds of thousands?

(Because it's only over text, I can't tell the tone of this that well :/ but I shall assume that it was made in good faith!)
There are officially 12.8 Million Uyghurs in China. And if one uses a liberal definition of 'genocide', then I would say that a person is a victim of genocide if they are displaced, re-located, and/or re-educated within a broader genocide.

No doubt that that lineup would be fun to watch [skates and puck go brrrrr], but it doesn't *have* to be in a certain location.

Yes, have no doubt it's a tragedy on massive scale. They really missed the boat with Almaty, 2022.

[oneofthorsboys]

I see both Manchester City and Chelsea players as well as all officials took a knee prior to kick off at the recent Champions League Final in Porto. Respect!

[KitD]

I see both Manchester City and Chelsea players as well as all officials took a knee prior to kick off at the recent Champions League Final in Porto. Respect!

English soccer has had a high-profile anti-racism campaign going all season. Everyone takes the knee, it lasts about 10 seconds, the crowds applaud it, and then the game starts. It doesn't interrupt anything but it keeps the campaign in the spotlight, as intended. The right way to do it IMHO.