Athletes to be punished for protesting at Tokyo Olympics

Athletes could be punished for protesting or making a political statement at the Tokyo Olympics.

It comes after the IOC conducted a survey to find out what athletes thought of the rule.

The results showed that 70 per cent of athletes surveyed said protesting or making a political statement on Olympic grounds was inappropriate and should remain banned.

Professor David Rowe, from Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University, told Tom Elliott Australian athletes, in particular, were vocal in their thoughts.

“Australia was interestingly high, high in finding it inappropriate – 75 per cent were opposed to a podium protest,” he said.

“That’s way above New Zealand, or the USA, or South Korea and Canada.

“This tells us something interesting about Australian athletes, who have historically had a reputation for being quite conservative.

“I think that is coming through in that survey.

“The way I actually read it, it might not be against the rules for there to be a Black Lives Matter protest provided that everybody on the field of play does so.

“There is a mention that most athletes would accept it if everyone was all in on the general message.”

Press PLAY to hear more of what the survey found 

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