TOKYO — The U.S. women’s national team and other women’s soccer teams knelt before kickoff of their Olympic openers on Wednesday, the first demonstrations at the Games under slightly relaxed protest rules.
The demonstrations were pre-planned, as they have been before various international soccer matches for over a year now as collective statements against racism and other forms of discrimination.
At the U.S.-Sweden game at the Tokyo Stadium, at the sound of the referee’s whistle, all 11 starters from both teams, plus the ref, dropped to one knee. They stayed there for about 10 seconds with pregame music still playing in the background. They then rose, and a short in-stadium countdown to kickoff commenced.
Both teams stood for their respective national anthems.
Players from Great Britain and Chile also knelt before their match on Wednesday. They were, officially, the first to stage a pre-event protest that was acceptable under IOC rules. The infamous Rule 50 had long prohibited almost all forms of protest at the Olympics. But under pressure from athletes, despite a long review that led to an internal recommendation to maintain the ban, the IOC loosened the rule to allow for demonstrations before competitions.
The full-team kneels are, therefore, unlikely to be the last demonstrations in Tokyo.