With less than a week before the start of the Asian Games in China, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has publicly threatened athletes with the removal of accreditation should they decide to exercise their fundamental right to freedom of expression.

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) archaic approach to limiting athletes’ rights to freedom of expression is another sign of an outdated sport system that continues to suppress athletes’ fundamental rights. The competitors are humans first, athletes second.

Today we are calling on all International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) TOP Sponsors to demand that the IOC and IPC respect athlete freedom of expression and rescind Olympic Charter Rule 50.2 and IPC Section 2.2.

We call on the IOC Athletes’ Commission to abandon the Consultation on Athlete Demonstrations and on the IOC and IPC to immediately rescind Rule 50.2.

Global Athlete calls for the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee to immediately abolish Olympic Charter Rule 50

In the wake of the tragic killing of George Floyd, along with others who have died at the hands of the Police, I have been asked by many reporters, over the last week, for my for my opinion on the relationship between protests, sport, the Olympics and the role that athletes can play in advocacy for civil rights.