International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president Richard Pound has rejected claims the organisation is restricting athletes’ freedom of speech through Rule 50.
The IOC and President Thomas Bach have come under heavy criticism for their repeated warnings to athletes about staging podium protests at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Rule 50 states that “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
American footballer Megan Rapinoe was one of many athletes to criticise the rule and insinuate freedom of speech was being curtailed.
“So much being done about the protests,” she said on Instagram.
“So little being done about what we are protesting about.
“We will not be silenced.”
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Pound has responded to the criticism in a column for the Canadian newspaper The Star, defending the use of Rule 50.