Athletes competing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, will be able to take the knee in solidarity with anti-racist movements.
The stance comes two days after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would stick to its threat to ban athletes at Tokyo 2020 for such protests although president Thomas Bach later said they would consult with athletes before making a ruling.
It comes in the wake of the worldwide protests following the death of George Floyd after he was pinned under a white policeman’s knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds in Minneapolis last month.
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The NFL has changed its stance by saying players should be allowed to protest during the national anthem and now Commonwealth Games organisers have said they will respect people’s rights to voice their opinions
In remarks reported by the Reuters news agency, Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg said:
“The movement is challenging all institutions to really look introspectively at what we can do to be more fair, more free, have better equality.
“Sport is no different.”
He added:
“We are comfortable with the uncomfortable conversation and we need to embrace it. We maybe have more responsibility because of the shared history of the Commonwealth so we need to find solutions that don’t build walls but rather build bridges.”
Grevemberg said athlete protests have long been a part of the Commonwealth Games, citing the example of former Australian athlete Cathy Freeman, who wrapped herself in the Aboriginal flag after winning the 200 and 400m in the 1994 Games in Victoria, Canada.
Freeman went on to win the 400m at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, after which she draped herself in both the Aboriginal and Australian flags.
“The reason her moment was so powerful at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 was because of what she did in Victoria in 1994.”