Protests and push to ban Israel: Paris Olympics will be like no other, says ex-NBA player

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) — The Olympics, the world's largest sporting event, has always been intertwined with politics, often marked by protests and boycotts since the Games' inception in 1896.

During the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, US sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested racial injustice at the men's 200-meter award ceremony, standing barefoot on the podium and raising a single black-gloved fist during the national anthem.

Twenty-two African countries boycotted the 1976 Olympics in Montreal to protest New Zealand's participation, due to its Rugby team's tour of Apartheid South Africa.

During the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the US led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, resulting in 65 nations refusing to participate while 80 countries still sent athletes to compete.

In response to the US-led boycott in 1980, 14 Eastern Bloc countries, led by the USSR, boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

The 2024 Olympics, much like the Games during the Cold War, will be entangled in a political agenda, though a different one.

The Summer Olympics in Paris will undoubtedly be overshadowed by the ongoing massacre in Gaza, where Israel has killed over 36,000 people since Oct. 7.

"It is not going to be an Olympics like any other Olympics, that's for sure," a former NBA player, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, told Anadolu about the importance of drawing attention to the genocide in Gaza by athletes during the Games, adding:

"This is going to be very different. And I hope that athletes are going to voice their opinion. I hope that activism will be there to raise awareness."

"If Israel is not allowed to participate, that will raise awareness. If activists decide to voice their opinion there, that will raise awareness. So anything that can raise awareness to this traumatic issue is going to be helpful."

Highlighting his affiliation with Athletes for Ceasefire, a group uniting athletes in their call to end the Israeli onslaught, and emphasizing the role athletes can play in spreading this message, Abdul-Wahad stressed the significance of taking action on a platform that would have the world's attention through the duration of the event.

"So, if there's going to be protests, I am all for it."

"It is almost scary to think that a lot of people are not as aware as we are," he said, pointing out that this makes it all the more important to raise awareness through the act of protesting.

Abdul-Wahad, who began his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings in 1997, played for the Kings, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks until 2003.

He pointed to the 1968 protests by US sprinters Smith and Carlos, he emphasized that the US had a culture of politics in sports.

"I am sure they are going to find ways to express their views and if it helps bring people to a better understanding of what is going on, then it is perfect."

Abdul-Wahad also added that athletes could speak up on social media and must find ways to shine a spotlight on what is happening in Gaza "to show that this is a genocide, to show that these are human beings getting butchered and murdered."

"Because whether we like it or not, athletes have a platform. This is why the dark side of this situation do not want athletes to be involved, because they know that people listen to athletes."

According to Abdul-Wahad, sports today are closely intertwined with business and athletes may feel pressured to stay silent as they fear the negative consequences of voicing their opinions.

"Some federations also do not encourage their athletes to be socially aware of what is going on ... So, it's very unfortunate," he said

- 'Hypocritical' international organizations

Abdul-Wahad also pointed out that when Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine, Russian athletes were banned and now competing under a neutral banner, not their country's.

"We reached a point now where countries who do this have to be punished some way, somehow. I mean, there has to be consequences. If there are not going to be any consequences at the International Court of Justice, at least we need consequences in the realm of sports.

Emphasizing that a country's representation in sports is "a privilege" that "should be given freely," he said: "I'm sorry to say, but the country of Israel has long since passed the opportunity to have this privilege."

Israel's assault in Gaza has come to a point that is "disgusting" and not even "describable," almost beyond "genocide."

"If you want to compete in an international competition that is recognized by international organizations, you have to respect international law," he said.

"Russia did not follow the law. Their athletes got banned. Let's not be hypocrites here. Let's treat everybody the same."

Russia and Belarusian athletes were banned following Russia's war on Ukraine in February 2022. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled that athletes from these countries will be allowed to compete as neutrals, conditional on them competing without their country's flags, emblems, or anthems.

However, Israel faces no threat to its Olympic status ahead of the Games, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said in March, despite Tel Aviv being nearly eight months into its war in Gaza.

Vast swathes of Gaza now lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of "genocide" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

"If it's the decision they go with, and if we don't manage to put enough pressure on them to change that decision, it's an absolute shame," Abdul-Wahad stressed.

"It's an absolute shame. It's a shame, but it shows how hypocritical the international organizations are, whether the ones who have to deal with the law or the ones who have to deal with sports or, it's this situation today puts us face to face with our responsibilities and to these organizations face to face with their responsibilities," he added.

"I hope that they will reverse that decision. Because if we don't have rules within the world, what do we have? We have nothing. It's a free fall. Anybody can do anything and not face the consequences."