Olympic Committee Reaction by Nicole Morales

The Black Power Salute of the 1968 Olympics was deemed “unfit” for the international forum the Olympic Games were supposed to be. Rather, the salute done by Smith and Carlos was viewed by the International Olympic Committee Chairman, Avery Brundage, as a domestic political issue not appropriate for the setting. IOC Chairman Brundage suspended Carlos and Smith from the U.S. team and banned them all together from the Olympic Village. The U.S. Olympic committee initially refused to suspend Carlos and Smith, but the IOC chairman then threatened to ban the entire U.S. team. This eventually lead to both runners being expelled from the Games.