Could global tensions burst the Paris Olympics bubble?
History has not reflected well on Brundage, whose legacy has been marred by his anti-Semitic and racist views. But his insistence on keeping politics out of the Games still keeps the Olympic spirit alive. In a speech last year, the current IOC president Thomas Bach urge Politicians “keep politics and sports separate”.
Bach made the same point at a press conference on Tuesday in response to the Palestinian Olympic Committee’s call to ban Israel from the Paris Games.
“We are not involved in politics, we are there to fulfill our mission of bringing athletes together,” Bach said.
Hoberman said Bach was relying on the same doctrine of Olympic neutrality put forward by Brundage nearly a century ago. “It is clearly stated that, for the good of humanity, sport and politics should not be mixed,” Hoberman said.
The neutrality of the games was later enshrined in Article 50 of the Olympic Charter, which states: “No form of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda shall be permitted at any Olympic venue, venue or other area.”
That ban has come under fire in recent years. In 2021, a group of more than 150 academics, activists, and former Olympians—including Smith and Carlos—signed an open letter calling for a change to Rule 50.
The IOC reviewed and ultimately decided to keep the rule, but the governing body also issued new guidelines allowing athletes to “express their views” on the field of play before the start of competition, as long as those views are not disruptive or directed “against any person, nation, [organizations] and/or their dignity.”
That paves the way for some actions previously banned at the COVID-delayed Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where several women’s soccer teams knelt before their games as a statement against racism. But organizers are wary of other gestures. Saunders Crow, who won silver in the shot put that year, formed an “X” with his wrist while on the podium in Tokyo, prompting an investigation by the IOC. Saunders, who is black and gay, said the gesture symbolized “the intersection where all oppressed people meet.” (The IOC dropped the investigation after Saunders’ mother died two days after the event.)
Molly Solomon, NBC’s executive producer and president of Olympics coverage said the network covered all the moments in Tokyo and there are no rules requiring avoiding political topics when covering the games.
In Paris, NBC plans to focus on athletes from Ukraine and the channel will “follow Israeli and Palestinian athletes,” Solomon said, but those stories will be told “through the lens of sports.”
After all, she said, the Olympics are an event that keeps the political arena out of the picture.
“We’re just a few months away from the most divisive presidential election,” Solomon told me. “I’m looking forward to 17 days in late July and early August when, in my mind, all of that will be behind us.”
Solomon said she didn’t expect many political statements from athletes in Paris. Neither did Hoberman, although he suspected Bach was “nervous” about them.
“Don’t expect high-profile athletes to get involved in politics. It rarely happens,” Hoberman said. “The reason Tommie Smith and John Carlos are immortal is because what they did was break the ground.”
Meanwhile, Tarazi said she had no interest in doing anything that would violate the Olympic charter. And despite her commitment to highlighting the deteriorating situation in Gaza, she believes that sport and politics should be kept separate.
“At the end of the day, we’re all just athletes here. We just want to play our sport,” Tarazi said. “Yes, of course I want to use my platform and spread the message, and I believe that’s my responsibility. But I’m here to swim. I’ve trained 20 years of my life for this.”
