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- Saki Kumagai, captain of Japan’s “Nadeshiko” team, said they decided to do the gesture after hearing that Great Britain would do it. The British team first took a knee on July 21 before a match against Chile, which also responded similarly, according to NPR.
- “The whole team talked about it, and it gave us a chance to think about racism. We also decided to take the knee to show respect for the actions of the British,” Kumagai said, according to The Mainichi.
- The Olympic Charter seeks to uphold the neutrality of the Games. With the new Rule 50.2, athletes are able to express their views in venues such as (1) the Field of Play (before the start of the competition), (2) in the “mixed zones” (including when speaking to the media), (3) in the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) or the Main Media Centre (MMC) (including when speaking to the media), and (4) during press conferences, to name a few.
- Aside from Great Britain and Chile, the U.S., Sweden and New Zealand’s women’s soccer teams also took the knee on July 21. This made them “the first athletes to use the Olympic platform for a display of activism,” according to AP News.