He argued that the Nazi salute, being a national salute at the time, was acceptable in a competition of nations, while the athletes' salute was not of a nation and therefore unacceptable. Ī spokesman for the IOC said Smith and Carlos's actions were "a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit." Brundage, who was president of the United States Olympic Committee in 1936, had made no objections against Nazi salutes during the Berlin Olympics. However, contrary to a common misconception, the IOC did not force Smith and Carlos to return their medals. This threat led to the expulsion of the two athletes from the Games. When the US Olympic Committee refused, Brundage threatened to ban the entire US track team. ![]() In response to their actions, he ordered Smith and Carlos suspended from the US team and banned from the Olympic Village. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Avery Brundage, himself an American, deemed it to be a domestic political statement unfit for the apolitical, international forum the Olympic Games were intended to be. About the lack of access to good housing and our kids not being able to attend the top colleges." International Olympic Committee response About how Muhammad Ali got stripped of his title. Tommie Smith stated in later years that "We were concerned about the lack of black assistant coaches. Black America will understand what we did tonight." We are black and we are proud of being black. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. Smith later said, "If I win, I am American, not a black American. As they left the podium they were booed by the crowd. When The Star-Spangled Banner played, Smith and Carlos delivered the salute with heads bowed, a gesture which became front-page news around the world. For this reason, Carlos raised his left hand as opposed to his right, differing from the traditional Black Power salute. It was Peter Norman who suggested Carlos wear Smith's left-handed glove. īoth US athletes intended to bring black gloves to the event, but Carlos forgot his, leaving them in the Olympic Village. The famous picture of the event was taken by photographer John Dominis. Sociologist Harry Edwards, the founder of the OPHR, had urged black athletes to boycott the games reportedly, the actions of Smith and Carlos on October 16, 1968, were inspired by Edwards' arguments. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the Middle Passage." All three athletes wore Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badges after Norman, a critic of Australia's former White Australia Policy, expressed empathy with their ideals. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride, Carlos had his tracksuit top unzipped to show solidarity with all blue-collar workers in the US and wore a necklace of beads which he described "were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed and that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. ![]() The two US athletes received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty. After the race was completed, the three went to the podium for their medals to be presented by David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter. Australia's Peter Norman finished second with a time of 20.06 seconds (an Oceania record that still stands), and the US's John Carlos finished in third place with a time of 20.10 seconds. On the morning of October 16, 1968, US athlete Tommie Smith won the 200-meter race with a world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Main article: Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres
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