ABSTRACT
Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter prohibits athletes from engaging in political, racial, and religious protests and demonstrations at the Olympic Games. This chapter examines the tension that exists between the human rights rhetoric espoused by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its restriction of athletes’ freedom of expression by the operation of Rule 50. It begins by tracing the evolution of Rule 50 from the iconic protests at Mexico 1968 to the provision of the first formal interpretative guidance on its application at Tokyo 2020. It then moves on to examine the legality of the restrictions imposed on athletes’ ability to engage in protest and activism at the Olympic Games through a human rights lens. Using instances of athlete activism that took place at Tokyo 2020 as exemplars, it is demonstrated how the operation of Rule 50 is incompatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and how the law can be used to reduce the tension in the relationship between the IOC and the athletes.
