The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has remained defiant in the face of social justice reform, continuing a ban on athletes from protesting at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Athletes will be banned from kneeling or raising their fists in protest.

Rule 50 of the Olympic charter states that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”

The IOC guidelines state that athletes who break protest rules at the Tokyo Games face three rounds of disciplinary action from the IOC, a sport’s governing body and a national Olympic body.

IOC Chief executive confirmed that athletes will face sanctions at the games in Tokyo. “If this political neutrality is not respected, then the Olympic Games will divide, and not unite, the world,” Bach insisted.