On the TunneySide of Sports October 7, 2019, #764 … ”And Justice for All”
After further review… That’s exactly what is happening to Tommie Smith and John Carlos!! Smith and Carlos were the Gold and Bronze medalists in the men’s 200-meter race in the 1968 Olympics – officially the Games of the XIX Olympiad – held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. These were the first Olympiads held in a Spanish-speaking country as well as the first games to use an all-weather track instead of the traditional cinder track.
Standing on the podium Smith and Carlos, both Black athletes, when receiving their medals for their successes in that 200-meter race, both held their right closed-fist high while the traditional United States of America National Anthem was played. They were not trying to dishonor America. They were trying to raise consciousness about basic human rights.
How do I know this? I spoke a few years back with Payton Jordan who was their 1968 Olympic coach. Payton was my freshman football coach at Occidental College in 1947. It was his first year at OXY who recruited him to be their track and field coach. Jordan was a three-sport athlete at the University of Southern California, on the 1939 Rose Bowl football team and set world records in the 440m and 100m events. In our conversation, Payton told me both Smith and Carlos were cooperative teammates on the Olympic team.
Smith’s later career was one of teaching and coaching. With regard to that gesture, he said, “We were not Antichrists. We were just human beings who saw a need to bring attention to the inequality in our country. I don’t like the idea of people looking at it as negative. There was nothing but a raised fist in the air and a bowed head, acknowledging the American flag – not symbolizing a hatred for it.” Carlos had a brief career in professional football both in the NFL and the CFL then became a counselor at Palm Springs High School in Palm Springs, California.
Both Smith and Carlos — still living in their mid-70s – will be inducted on November 1, 2019, into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame – an honor denied them in 1968 because of their podium gesture. Both were on the right side of civil rights and deserve this honor.
Will you log-in your comments about Smith and Carlos’ actions regarding civil rights?
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