It’s the Olympics! And so this month’s Creative Protest is looking at those times when sports and protest have walked hand in hand. From competing in sports being a protest itself, to sports being a platform we use to get messages across- there is no denying that the sporting world gets a lot of attention, and so it’s only right we use it for promoting peace, love and justice…
We will start by looking at this legend: Katherine Switzer. You may recognise this image, it is one which has certainly stuck with me since I first read Switzer’s story.
It is 1967, the Boston Marathon, and a day which will go on to change the face of running and sexism in sport forever. Whilst attempting to run the Boston marathon (and be the first woman to officially do so), Switzer was attacked by race director Jock Semple, who attempted to prevent her from taking part. The most amazing part of this story for me, is the fact that the two later became good friends, but this iconic photo will always stand out as a turning point for women’s running, and women’s sport in general. This is a prime example of when taking part in sport, when those in charge want to prohibit it, is in itself an act of protest. It is in modern history that women were banned from taking part in certain sports. In fact it wasn’t until 1971 that the FA lifted the ban on women playing football. 1971. That is why women not just taking part, but succeeding in sport now is still a protest and why the Lionesses smashing the Euros in 2022 was not just a great sporting moment, but a great moment in the history of women’s rights.
Speaking of legends… here’s another. Tom Daley. Diver, knitter and all round national treasure, Daley uses his platform as an elite
athlete to campaign for LGBTQIA+ rights. Notably in the 2022 commonwealth games he used the opportunity to shine a light on the laws in over half of the 54 countries competing in the games, where it is still illegal to be gay. Daley used his platform to campaign and stand in solidarity with people who are victims of these laws. Most memorably for me, Daley was the final baton bearer for the games, running out followed by a group of LGBTQIA+ athletes and advocates bearing pride flags. He used this moment to “run in solidarity with all LGBT athletes and communities”. I remember watching this moment with my mum and welling up, not just because I really rather like Tom Daley, but because I knew then that this was a turning point in history- and it felt like it. With his support the Commonwealth games became the first large sporting event to openly support the campaign for LGBTQIA+ rights. Afterwards he said “this is about every single LGBT person around the commonwealth- around the world, that they might have seen this tonight and been given a bit of hope.” He took to Instagram with this photo captioned: Tonight at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, myself and 6 extraordinary LGBTQ+ athletes and advocates from around the Commonwealth will be carrying the Queen’s baton into the stadium. In over half of the Commonwealth countries, homosexuality is still a crime and in 3 of those countries the maximum penalty is the death sentence. These laws are a legacy of colonialism. This opening ceremony for us is about showing LGBTQ+ visibility to the billion people watching so I wanted to shout out the incredible six people that I’ll be walking into the stadium with.
Let’s take a look at another key moment where protest and sport crossed paths; in the 1968 summer Olympics. After reaching the podium 200 meter sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos did a gesture which would shake the world, and is still remembered as a key moment in Black History. Whilst the US national anthem was playing both men raised a fist in the air, in what has been known as a ‘Black Power Salute’ but what the athletes have since described as a ‘human rights salute’. What was the meaning of these gestures? Smith, raised his right fist to represent Black Power whilst Carlos, wearing a bead necklace to symbolise the lynchings of black Americans, raised his left fist to represent black unity. They wore black scarves in honour of black pride and wore no shoes or socks to represent African-American poverty. However, as with all protest it didn’t come without its repercussions, and both men were reprimanded by the IOC (International Olympic Comitee) and suspended from the US team. Despite this, it was another key turning point in history, particularly in the history of civil rights, and the ‘Black Power Salute’ has since become a symbol for the rights of black people around the world- and is still used today. 
We have often seen sport be a place of resistance and protest. The women’s England football team wore one love arm bands in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. Throughout 2020 and beyond athletes took a knee before games to help raise awareness and protest against racism. The LGBTQIA+ rights charity, Stonewall, have a whole campaign encouraging people to wear rainbow laces. However, my final example, may not seem like a ‘protest’ but it is a celebration of a group of people who are often demonized by politics and the media: refugees. My final shout out is about the first ever refugee Olympic team, which was formed during the Rio 2016 Olympics. There has since been an IOC Refugee team every year in the Olympics including this year’s Paris games. The team allows the IOC to support displaced people getting into professional sport and acting as role models and inspirations to thousands. In a world which is more and more divisive, often with the media placing refugees in negative lights, it is heartwarming and inspiring to watch the IOC Refugee Team compete in a wholly positive way.
Whether it’s the One Love rainbow armbands the Lionesses wore in the Euros, rainbow laces from Stonewall, even our Tom Daley using a rainbow towel this week, sport is a public platform and so although people may argue ‘politics should keep out of sport’ I disagree. It doesn’t exist in a bubble, and if it has the power to do good then it should.