International Olympic Committee

The IOC May Not Like it, but the Games have Always Been a Forum for Protest

by Harry Blutstein

"Baron Pierre de Coubertin, believed that Olympiads were a way to communicate “love for concord and a respect for life.” So it was not surprising that activist athletes saw the Olympics as a legitimate forum to promote those values whenever they saw them violated."

Amateurism, Sneaker Money, and the Forgotten Protest of the 1968 Games

by Harry Blutstein

Tommie Smith and John Carlos are remembered for their gloved-fist protest of American racism at the 1968 Mexico City Games. But they also demonstrated against the hypocritical and exploitative rules of amateurism and opened the door to endorsement payments for Olympians.

Why Japan Forfeited Hosting the 1940 Games

by Paul Droubie

Japan's forfeiture of the games amid rising international and internal tensions shows that the Olympics have always been a vehicle for the promotion of national elites' agendas, often at the expense of popular domestic concerns.