The Guidelines on Athlete Expression are straightforward – so is Rule of 50.2 of the Olympic Charter that provides for the protection of neutrality of sport at the Olympic Games.
No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.
The aim is to make sure that the focus remains on athletes’ performances, sport and harmony.
A rule that is same for every participant and covers not only the athletes’ behaviours, but the team uniforms, as well – and is enforced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Sometimes professional design or personal choices collide with these regulations.
For example, in the case of the stunning uniform designed for the Haitian delegation.
Made by Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean, the hand-painted uniform originally featured Haiti’s founding father, former slave Toussaint Loverture on horseback, charging into battle – inspired by the painting of famous American-Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié.
It was meant to be ‘not an exercise in style’ but an ‘act of responsibility’ where ‘every detail is intentional’, using ‘visibility as a form of survival’. Haitian cultural identity and perseverance eternalized, when ‘every single piece in this uniform has a specific historical meaning for it’.
Only, on January 4, designer Stella Jean was informed that the uniform – on which she worked for nearly a year – did not comply with Olympic regulations prohibiting political, religious or racial propaganda at Olympic venues and on uniforms.
In a creative scramble, with limited budget and tight deadline – the designer found a compromise.
A design that complied with the rules yet preserved ‘her message without diluting Haiti’s history’.
Thus, the redesigned uniform features a red horse. Without a rider.
The IOC accepted the reasoning and the suggested compromise because the rules are meant to provide a safe environment, not to ensure complete mind control.
Just as the whole world could see on the opening ceremony.
When Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was told that he cannot wear his ‘helmet of remembrance’ – a helmet that depicted people killed during the war – for the very same reason, he chose a different path.
The IOC offered several ways forward – wearing a black armband, wearing the helmet during training or immediately after the competition, news conferences, on social media and in mixed zones, but not during the event.
The organization held a meeting with the athlete’s coach and delegation. The president of IOC, Kirsty Coventry, also paid a visit to Heraskevych in a final attempt to convince him.
Heraskevych wasn’t told that he couldn’t remember his fallen friends or that he couldn’t express his grief in any ways. He was only told that he needed to keep the rules – because the essence of the case was ‘not about the message, it is about where he wanted to express it’.
Heraskevych ‘did not consider any form of compromise’ and said that he would wear the helmet during the race anyway – thus consequently, was banned from competing on February 12.
Instead of backing down, he turned to social media – sharing a message that translated to ‘this is the price of our dignity’, then appealed against the decision.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) dismissed his appeal on February 13, making the IOC’s decision final. According to the decision, while the Cas were ‘fully sympathetic’ to Heraskevych’s case and his right to ‘freedom of expression’, it was ‘not permitted on the field of play’.
While Ukrainian President Zelenskyy immediately rallied behind the banned athlete, along with the Ukrainian Olympic Committee – the rest of the world accepted the decision, keeping the ‘field of play sacrosanct’ and free from politics.
Let them be Haitian or Ukrainian.
