Imagine, for a second, that a national anthem is playing. Imagine the chords, the brass, the strings. Imagine it’s early-August, 2020. And imagine, with a crowd singing, an Olympian is beaming. On a podium in sweltering Tokyo, he’s sweating profusely, but he doesn’t care. Imagine it’s the proudest moment of his life.
Then, as the anthem concludes, imagine him reaching into his shorts. Pulling out a banner. Holding it up, and revealing its message to the world: “LET IRANIAN WOMEN ENTER THEIR STADIUMS.”
Imagine all of this in light of the International Olympic Committee’s new protest policy, which outlaws, among other things, “any political messaging, including signs.