Olympic officials U-turn on gagging athletes during Beijing competition

Published on Sunday 10 February 2008 21:37

BRITISH Olympic officials backed down yesterday over a contract with athletes it was claimed would gag criticism of China at the Beijing Games.

The British Olympic Association said it would look again at the wording of the agreement after a furious outcry from human rights groups and opposition politicians.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, accused officials of kowtowing to the Chinese and of abdication of their moral responsibilities.

Human rights group Liberty said muzzling athletes would be "un-British and un-Olympian".

The angry reaction came after it emerged officials had inserted a new clause insisting athletes must not comment on politically sensitive issues during the Games. Athletes who breach the contract could face being sent home. It read: "(Athletes) are not to comment on any politically sensitive issues."

It also refers athletes, likely to include marathon runner Paula Radcliffe and the Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips, to Section 51 of the IOC charter which restricts demonstrations of "political propaganda" on Olympic sites.

Initially, BOA bosses denied trying to gag competitors, insisting they were free to answer questions but should not use the Games as a soapbox. They said the clause was designed to prevent organised protest like the civil rights protests at the 1968 games in Mexico City.

Then, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos wore black gloves and raised their fists in the 'black power' salute.

But Simon Clegg, the BOA chief executive, later conceded that the contract would need to be amended to make its intentions clearer.

"I accept the interpretation of one part of the draft BOA's Team Members Agreement appears to have gone beyond the provision of the Olympic Charter.

"This is not our intention, nor is it our desire to restrict athletes' freedom of speech, and the final agreement will reflect this," he said in a statement.

The U-turn came after the response to the move was unfailingly critical.

The Liberal Democrat leader told BBC1's Politics Show: "We have to be very clear with the Chinese: they now play a significant role in the world economy and international affairs.

"I think for us to sort of gag ourselves is a real abdication of our moral responsibility to push for human rights wherever they are being abused."

Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary at Westminster, urged the BOA to withdraw the "ridiculous contract".

He said: "It's a privilege for China to hold the Olympics, but our athletes must have the right to speak freely."

A spokesman for Liberty said: "It would be both un-British and un-Olympian to attempt to muzzle the speech and conscience of athletes attending the Games."

The Prince of Wales recently indicated that he would not be attending the opening of the Games, in a move perceived as a snub to the Chinese government.

&#149 Dwain Chambers stormed to victory in the 60m at the World Indoor trials in Sheffield yesterday with a season's-best time of 6.56 seconds to book his spot in next month's World Indoor Championships in Valencia.

UK Athletics had attempted to prevent Chambers – who served a two-year suspension after he tested positive for tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) in August 2003 – from competing.

COURTING CONTROVERSY

AT THE 1968 Mexico City Olympics, United States team-mates Tommie Smith and John Carlos finished first and third in the 200 metres.

Each raised a black-gloved fist as they received their medals, in solidarity with the Black Panther movement that argued for civil rights and self-defence in the 1960s and 1970s. They were shoeless, wearing only black socks to represent black poverty.

Peter Norman, the silver medallist from Australia, wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, along with Smith and Carlos, in support of their protest. Smith and Carlos were both expelled from the Games.

Smith later said he was not a member of the Black Panthers and his medal was not taken back by the International Olympic Committee.