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Athletes warned of sacrifices
12/04/2008 18:29 - (SA)
London - The athletes whose Black Power salute shocked the 1968 Olympics advised competitors to consider the consequences of making political protests at the Beijing Games, in interviews published on Saturday.
The American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos cautioned competitors to go with their hearts and minds and weigh up the sacrifices involved, as the 2008 Olympics increasingly become the focus of protests over human rights in China and Beijing's actions in Tibet.
Little has changed since the pair stunned the Olympics with their silent act on the podium, Carlos told the British newspaper The Times.
"It doesn't appear that we've learnt anything," he said. Back in same situation
"Forty years have passed and we're back in the same situation.
"I would never advocate a boycott of the Games, but what I do advocate is the passing-by of the opening ceremony by the French and German presidents.
"And for the athletes, what I suggest is that they study the situation and go with their hearts and minds, be it in talking to the news about the situation or taking it to another level the way we did."
Smith said the IOC could still hurt athletes that crossed it.
"There are big similarities between 1968 and now," he said.
"I would never warn athletes not to make a stand, but I would warn them of the sacrifices. "In 1968, I may have become infamous overnight, but I couldn't find a job when I got home.
"If you make a stand at a world event, you will sacrifice a great deal. I do believe the IOC would punish the athlete, possibly even more than we were in 1968."
He added: "This is probably the most political Games in the history of the Olympics. "We need to know why the IOC brought the Olympics to a country with a one-party system. "Don't pretend that money had nothing to do with it. "But the IOC has responsibilities. This was a decision that needed more thought." Won't be at Olympics
Neither Smith nor Carlos will attend the Beijing Olympics, which run from August 8-24.
"Even if I had the money, I wouldn't go," Carlos said.
"I wouldn't want to be a part of that. I couldn't be a consumer at that place. "Maybe the IOC needs to devise another formula to work out what nations have the right to host the Games.
"I'm not disenchanted with the Olympics, I'm disenchanted with the policy of the Olympics."
Smith and Carlos won the 200m gold and bronze medals respectively. Their raised black-gloved fist salutes in support of black nationalism were the most overtly political statements in Olympic history and led to them being suspended from the US team.
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