When it comes to Olympic protest and Black Power, Tommie Smith and John Carlos are the first two that come to mind. The 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City were a key moment in Black athlete protest, as illustrated in the great number of articles and books that focus on this event. However, little known Wayne Collett and Vincent Matthews embraced the spirit of Black power protest from the '68 Olympic Games and displayed their own demonstration at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
After Matthews won the gold, and Collett took silver in the 400 meter dash, they both stood on the first place podium together facing away from the American flag. Sociologist Harry Edwards, added in his article "The Black Athletes: 20th Century Gladiators for White America,"that Matthews and Collett "stood casually on the victory stand while the national anthem played on international TV, their actions symbolizing the casual attitude of Whites towards the needs and desires of blacks in America." The two talked amongst themselves, refusing to stand at attention. As they walked away from the podium, they endured cat calls and boos, and Collett raised a clinched fist towards the crowd.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized the act as a "disgusting display,"and suspended the duo from the rest of the 1972 games which forced the United States to remove itself from the 4x400 meter relay competition. The IOC later banned them for life. Collett defended himself stating that he could not "stand there and sing the words because I don’t believe they’re true...I believe we have the potential to have a beautiful country, but I don’t think we do.” In a LA Times article from 2002, Collett recollected, “I love America. I just don’t think it’s lived up to its promise. I’m not anti-American at all. To suggest otherwise is to not understand the struggles of blacks in America at the time.” The saying that "sports and politics should never mix" is quite untrue, because they are intertwined. Jesse Owens in 1936 Berlin, and the interracial bans of mixed athletics of the 1950s and 1960s are true testaments.
Understanding the struggles of African Americans and using athletics as a vehicle to bring attention to the obstacles faced by many must be recognized as a worthy feat. Today, many athletes (regardless of their ethnicity) fail to publicly account for the hardships that others endure on a daily basis. As the 1968 Games have been characterized as the epitome of Black athlete protest, the demeanor of Collett and Matthews at the Munich games in '72 have illustrated that there were numerous examples of African Americans challenging the status quo of inequality. To ignore one of the symbols of American patriotism, the national anthem, to make a political and social point is noteworthy. Therefore, I recognize Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett for taking a stand and putting their careers on the line for the betterment of others.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized the act as a "disgusting display,"and suspended the duo from the rest of the 1972 games which forced the United States to remove itself from the 4x400 meter relay competition. The IOC later banned them for life. Collett defended himself stating that he could not "stand there and sing the words because I don’t believe they’re true...I believe we have the potential to have a beautiful country, but I don’t think we do.” In a LA Times article from 2002, Collett recollected, “I love America. I just don’t think it’s lived up to its promise. I’m not anti-American at all. To suggest otherwise is to not understand the struggles of blacks in America at the time.” The saying that "sports and politics should never mix" is quite untrue, because they are intertwined. Jesse Owens in 1936 Berlin, and the interracial bans of mixed athletics of the 1950s and 1960s are true testaments.
Understanding the struggles of African Americans and using athletics as a vehicle to bring attention to the obstacles faced by many must be recognized as a worthy feat. Today, many athletes (regardless of their ethnicity) fail to publicly account for the hardships that others endure on a daily basis. As the 1968 Games have been characterized as the epitome of Black athlete protest, the demeanor of Collett and Matthews at the Munich games in '72 have illustrated that there were numerous examples of African Americans challenging the status quo of inequality. To ignore one of the symbols of American patriotism, the national anthem, to make a political and social point is noteworthy. Therefore, I recognize Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett for taking a stand and putting their careers on the line for the betterment of others.
Love the piece, Bennett. To recognize these two figures is notable and serves as a reminder that we should not be afraid to stand for justice nor should we sit back and casually allow our beloved country (I use that phrase loosely) continue to "progress" as it leaves its forgotten sons and daughters in the dust.
ReplyDeleteI’m looking forward to more parts of this series. Motivation.
Interesting post Bennett. I wish more athletes would take a stand on controversial topics today too..it's obviously effective
ReplyDeleteWell composed, Bennett. This sheds further light on the cowardice and apathy of the modern black athlete. The modern black athlete has more resources to affect social chance than in any other era, but they allow themselves to be gagged by their agents and their respective professional leagues. By no means do I expect that black athletes jump on the soap box of every social ill that exists, but they have the eyes and ears of our black youth and owe them something other than allowing them to believe that they too will be professional athletes, when in fact, the chances are miniscule. There is a book entitled "Souled Out" by Shaun Powell that addresses this matter regarding the modern black athlete. These brothers are greatly deserving of this long overdue recognition.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the article is well written. I thought I was reading an AP article.
ReplyDeleteSecond, although we can give these guys props for their display , what really did it accomplish? And further, by being banned by the IOC, their voice was forever silenced on the national stage. Was there another way to make their point in a more effective manner? Perhaps not, maybe this was the best they could do. But maybe they should have thought this through a little more. Just maybe.
Nice intro to the 1968 athletes who sacrificed the same as the 1972. I never knew, because well the media never told me!
ReplyDeleteThe intersection between sports and politics is far too understated. When young black athlete ROUTINELY get reprimanded for "going to war" on a field (pun intended) while a white female former VP candidate is heralded a patriot as she publicly call for "targets" to be placed on the backs of candidates that don't share her views are results of the same system of privilege.
Because we view the two actors differently we are often left as a nation, with one half of the room quiet and agitated and the other loud and hurt (add racial descriptors where desired).
Bennett, good job with this article. This historical perspective is very much needed. Too many times African American history is relegated to moments in time such as the 'I Have a Dream Speech', Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat, Mexico in '68, etc, and not enough attention is paid to the entire struggle and all of the combined efforts to bring awareness to the struggle. I'm disappointed that I had not ever heard of this until now. I think if more people were aware of the depth and breadth of African American history, they would have a better appreciation of their current opportunities.
ReplyDeleteHas anything been done to reconcile this situation? The sacrifices that these men made to their careers to enlighten the United States so it could live "up to its promise" need to be at least formally recognized by the IOC
ReplyDeleteGood article RB. I always wondered what happened to these gentlemen. Standing up to tyranny automatically implies great risk; I often wonder whether knowledge of this fact is the reason why so few of today's black athletes, many of whom are well-educated and some of who are even politically astute, fail to make known their views on issues like the mass incarceration of black youth or the widespread discrimination against blacks in corporate America, etc. I hope that studies help us to understand some of these dynamics and that you keep hitting us with the good stuff!
ReplyDeleteWrote a long response....got erased...I'm pissed.
ReplyDeleteGood article RABII, I'll be back to comment.
Nice article,
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Collett and Matthews. Obviously their contribution to political protest in sports has been over-nostaligized by Smith and Carlos. I wonder how many other individual acts of protest have gone unacknowledged, given the desire to keep them hush hush.
Bennett, any follow up on what happened to them after being banned? Did the continue on to fight for injustices or was this their sole attempt? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Luther. This article was very AP-ish. Something to consider.
Many thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteAfter their actions in the '72 Games, there was a backlash as both men received hate mail. However, Collett was strongly supported by the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) where he made an attempted comeback in track and field. Eventually he graduated from the school and eventually earned an MBA and JD from the institution.
Matthews received a degree in History from HBCU Johnson C. Smith, and was unable to find sports related work after the '72 Games, but was able to find a job with the Neighborhood Youth Corps.
Collett died March 17, 2010. His recent passing, was the inspiration for recognizing the gesture by he and Matthews.