Insensitive to today’s matters at hand, Tokyo Olympics officials confirmed that athletes will not be allowed to wear Black Lives Matter apparel at the official Games ceremonies this year.
Disrespectful? Yes, but not a total Blackout.
BLM slogans will be allowed at press conferences, during interviews, and at team meetings.
“A very clear majority of athletes said that they think it’s not appropriate to demonstrate or express their views on the field of play, at the official ceremonies or at the podium. So our recommendation is to preserve the podium, field of play and official ceremonies from any kind of protest or demonstrations or acts perceived as such.”
This isn’t a good look and will undoubtedly cause some fans and possibly athletes to boycott the long-awaited international event.
There also still seems to be some lingering confusion as to what Black Lives Matter is. Some perceive BLM as a political movement, when we all know that this is about social justice and human decency and ending the brutal killings of Black and Brown people at the hands of police.
These are world causes that the Olympics — which is supposed to be a world-unifying agent through competition — should be behind 100 percent.
