10 Famous Sporting Protests

Twelve years earlier, the Olympics were the platform for another demonstration, although this one conducted by Tommie Smith and John Carlos took place at the actual Games.

The African-American athletes won gold and bronze in the 200m in Mexico City, which took place in 1968 during the height of the civil rights movement in the United States.

While they stood proudly atop the podium, Smith and Carlos raised a black-gloved fist for the duration of The Star Spangled Banner and, along with Australian silver medallist Peter Norman, wore human rights badges on their Olympic jackets.

This supports Smith’s later claim that it was a “human rights salute”, but the protest is forever remembered as a political promotion of the “Black Power’ movement.

The two men were met by widespread boos from the crowd as they left the track, and the International Olympic Committee expelled them from the Games, without stripping them of their medals, for jeopardising the neutral stance of the organisation.

Upon returning from Mexico, the pair were allegedly subject to abuse and death threats directed at their family. Thankfully, both remain alive today to see the progress (albeit not enough) that has been made and the symbols of hope that they became.