Despite criticism, the IOC appears unwilling to change controversial Rule 50

Despite criticism, the IOC appears unwilling¹ to change controversial Rule 50

Transcript²

NPR's A Martinez talks to Yannick Kluch, an expert on diversity and inclusion in sports, about Rule 50 of the Olympic charter that prohibits demonstrations⁴ during the Games.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The U.S. and other Western democracies are holding a diplomatic boycott⁵ of the Beijing Olympics, citing genocide and crimes against humanity in northwest China. But U.S. athletes are not boycotting⁶. In fact, members of Team USA have been told to keep quiet about China's alleged⁷ human rights violations⁹. One reason stems from a controversial rule known as Rule 50. It prohibits any, quote, "kind of demonstration³ or political, religious or racial propaganda" during the Olympics.

YANNICK KLUCH: The basic structure of the rule as it exists right now in its current form was introduced in around 1975 into the Olympic Charter.

MARTINEZ: Yannick Kluch is an expert in diversity and inclusion in global sports. He says Rule 50 was adapted shortly after the most famous protest in Olympics history, when U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos used the global stage for their cause.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: During the medal ceremony, Smith and Carlos raised a single gloved fist as a symbol of protest at the treatment of Blacks in the U.S.A. They were ordered out of the Olympic Village and was suspended by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

MARTINEZ: The IOC has never confirmed that it created the rule in response to those 1968 protests. But athletes are increasingly holding global sports organizations accountable for racial injustice¹⁰ and other inequities. And the IOC still seems unwilling to get rid of this rule.

KLUCH: Rule 50 has become one of the most prominent battlegrounds for racial justice and human rights in modern sport. And that is because, you know, if we look at Rule 50, we can see that it's clearly targeting minoritized athletes. One of the key cornerstones of the IOC argument is that IOC Rule 50 must stay intact to preserve the neutrality of the games. You know, scholars like me and others that came before me, specifically those from minoritized communities, have argued long ago that sport is never neutral because, you know, a lot of the social ills we see in society, we see in sport. And if we just assume that sport is neutral and we don't do anything about it, then we are just reinforcing those injustices¹¹, those inequities.

MARTINEZ: You know, and despite the controversy¹² surrounding Rule 50, an IOC Athletes' Commission involving more than 3,500 athletes - a majority of participating athletes did not think it is appropriate for athletes to express individual views during the opening ceremony or on the podium or even on the field of play. Yannick, what do you make of that?

KLUCH: I'm glad you bring that up because, you know, earlier I mentioned that one of the cornerstones of the argument of the IOC has been that sports should be neutral, which is a fallacy. It's never neutral. The other core piece of the argument is that survey that you referenced. The way the survey was set up was flawed. There was leading questions. There were some major flaws in the methodology. First of all, a majority of the athletes came from one culture context. The cultural context that was most represented was China. And China has been very outspoken¹³ to keep Rule 50 intact. You are not tracking any racial demographics. And the rule is clearly targeting racially minoritized populations. So right now, looking at the data, we don't know if a lot of the folks who responded are racially minoritized. And again, that's who the rule is targeting.

But these last Olympic Games in Tokyo, actually, they eased up a little bit on that. German hockey player Nike Lorenz, who wanted to wear a rainbow armband during a hockey match - and that is a violation⁸ of Rule 50 because it's viewed as a symbol of protest, advocating for the rights and humanity of LGBTQ people around the world. But the IOC approved that protest. So they were actually violating their own rule, which kind of hints at some of the larger issues at play here that one of the major critiques globally surrounding Rule 50 is that athletes don't know what the consequences are.

MARTINEZ: Do you think, Yannick, at all that we as a society are putting too much responsibility on athletes to raise concerns about things like human rights?

KLUCH: I would say, yes and no, you know? In an ideal world, we wouldn't need athletes to speak up on those things because they wouldn't exist in the first place. I do think that, you know, nobody forces athletes to speak out, and even folks who work with athletes. You know, nobody forces athletes to speak up. I think, right now, we are in a time where athletes are increasingly wanting to use their platform to call attention to global injustices, racial injustices, social injustices. But, you know, I think one of the misperceptions is that if we change Rule 50 to allow for those kinds of protests and demonstrations that every single athlete will be expected to speak up. But that's actually not what we want. We just want to make sure that folks who decide to speak up, to use the Olympic and Paralympic platform, which arguably is one of the biggest platforms we have to call attention to racial and social injustice globally - that those who choose to speak up don't get punished for it.

MARTINEZ: Yeah. And ahead of the Beijing Winter Games, athletes were warned about speaking out about human rights issues over concerns of their safety. Yannick, is the Olympic movement complicit in helping¹⁴ China to cover up its human rights violation? If we go through the whole Olympic Games and we hear and see nothing, nothing at all from athletes, is the Olympic movement complicit here?

KLUCH: That's the million-dollar question. And if you ask people like me who, you know, study and research and advocate for athletes to be heard, I would say, absolutely. I mean, the IOC has made some leeway in centering, you know, human rights. And they say that's, you know - they say that in their argument, that they want to promote human rights, that their movement is about humanity and, you know, bringing people together. But the reality is, is that their policies, their practices don't support that. I mean, just leading up to the Beijing Games, there's a lot of, you know, very well-respected human rights organizations - like the Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch, the Center for Sport and Human Rights, the Australian Human Rights Institute - all speaking up, saying, you know, you are not living up to your potential as the IOC.

You should be more proactive in centering human rights. You have to have mechanisms¹⁵ in place that make sure that countries who, you know, have some of the starkest¹⁶ violations of human rights don't get to host your games, because what you are allowing them to do is to sport-wash, you know, their horrific human rights records and just use the games to present themselves as open-minded, forward-thinking nations - when in reality, there is severe human rights violations, which is what's happening in China right now. So I think as long as the IOC and the IPC don't have those mechanisms in place, they are absolutely complicit.

MARTINEZ: That is Yannick Kluch, assistant professor and director of Inclusive Excellence¹⁷ in the Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth¹⁸ University. Yannick, thank you very much.

KLUCH: Thanks for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF STEREO EXPRESS' "REBIRTH")

1 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

6 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

10 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

11 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

12 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

13 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 starkest   

（指区别）明显的( stark的最高级 )； 完全的； 了无修饰的； 僵硬的

参考例句：

• Among the starkest-and the most worrying-have been measures of world trade. 而最典型也是最让人担心的是世界贸易的方式。
• Climate change and the depleted ozone layer are among the starkest examples. 气候变化和臭氧层耗减就是其中最明显的例子。

17 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

18 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。