Most Iconic Sports Protest

On October sixteenth, nineteen sixty eight, the most iconic Olympic podium we have ever seen took place when two African American athletes from the United States, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, raise their hands, each having a leathered glove in a fist as a salute to human rights. We're going to dive into how this happened in one of the first athletic protests that we see more common today have been more common in today's area. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide as you daily learn about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge. And today's trivia question to listen out for is what college did both Tommy Smith and John Carlos attend? So The nineteen sixty eight Olympics were held in Mexico City, Mexico. It featured one hundred and twelve nations with over five thousand athletes competing in one hundred and seventy two different events. The Games opened on October twelfth, going all the way to October twenty seventh, and they actually won the bid over the United States, who were attempting to get one in Detroit. Now heading into this Olympics, Tommy Smith and John Carlis were actually a part of a group called the Olympic Project for Human Rights who were advocating for South Africa and Rwanda to be uninvited from the Olympics, and they also wanted Muhammad Ali to get his World heavyweight title back as well as have the president of the IOC, Harvey Burndage, stepped down, and then also hire more African American assistant coaches for the US team. Now, they did not get all of this as really the only thing that happened with South Africa and Rwanda were uninvited from the Olympics, but that was something, but they wanted to do something with the opportunity had see. Tommy Smith was one of the best runners at the time as he was the first man to run under twenty seconds in a two hundred meter dash and in nineteen sixty six while attending San Jose State where he competed and raced with his friend John Carlos, and they were both able to make the nineteen sixty eight Olympic team, where actually John Carlos beat Tommy Smith in the two hundred meters dash during the US trials to make the Olympic team. So coming in. These were the two top runners for the two hundred meter dash, so they were the favorites which the final was held for the Olympics on October sixteenth, nineteen sixty eight, where Tommy Smith won with a time of nineteen point eight three seconds, but seemiously out of nowhere, Australia's Peter Norman won silver with a time of twenty point six beating John Carlos who finished third by just point zero four seconds. And this was Peter's best time ever running the two hundred meter dash and it's still the record for the fastest Australian two hundred meter dash and it was his only medal he ever won at the Olympic Games. Now, after this, Tommy and Carlos knew this was the moment they could take this and use this moment to speak out for their group, the Olympic Project for Human Rights, and they each wore a patch on their uniform with that, and Peter actually wanted to wear one too, even though he wasn't he wasn't African American, he still wanted to support human rights. And Tommy Smith and John Carlos had the idea to do the salute with the gloves, but John Carlos forgot his gloves, so they only had one pair of gloves, and they weren't sure exactly what they were gonna do, and Peter actually gave them the idea of why don't you each wear one glove for the salute. So even though Peter didn't participate in the actual protests, he was pivotal in how it happened. If you picture it, he realized that Tommy Smith holding his right hand up and John Carlos is putting his left hand up as they take the podium, and when the music plays, each of them hold a fist up in the air with a black leather glove, making it a pair as them and Peter face one way to look at the flags and listen to the United States national anthem. Now following this, the IOC actually ordered the United States to suspend them and banned them from Olympic village because this was an act of political statement that was unfit for the Olympics, and the IOC actually threatened to ban the entire US track team as they would not be suspended as they did not want to have a political protest ruined the spirit of the Olympics and although now Tommy and John are remembered for what they did in a strong stance they took, they came back to the US and they were ostracized from the US sporting community. Them and their families received death threats, and both were end up leaving the track and field world and to pursue other avenues. They were able to keep their medals so they could always remember this special time in their lives. After this moment, Tommy Smith actually signed with the American Football League Cincinnati Bengals, but he only ended up playing two games. He did catch one forty yard pass. After this, he would go on to finish getting his degree with a bachelor in science and a master's in social change, would become a track coach, now John Carlos, who would actually fight to race a little bit more, as he would race in the nineteen sixty nine season, setting the world record for the one hundred yard dash at nine point one, and finish his career at San Jose State and in nineteen seventy he was drafted in the fifteenth round by the Philadelphia Eagles, but unfortunately injured his knee during the tryout, but would go on to play one season with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. And in two thousand and five, San Jose University actually honored both Tommy and Carlos to alumni with a statue that represented their protest just outside the track stadium so they could be always remembered forever. And if you want to learn more about the background of the Olympics, check out the show Inside the Rings and they dive into all that goes into the Olympics, the history and little things here and there. If you want to know any more about it, check out the link in the description so that you can learn even more by listening to Inside the Rings. And if you enjoyed Daily Sports History, please make sure you are subscribed wherever you're listening so you don't miss an episode, and come back tomorrow for more Daily Sports History. And did you catch the answer to today's tribute question what college did both Tommy Smith and John Carlos both attend? The answer is San Jose State, which immortalized them with a statue of their iconic protest.