On the occasion of IOC’S decision to rescind the life ban imposed on Vince Matthews, Munich’s 1972 Olympic Games gold medallist in the men’s 400 meters athletics, the SIGA Standing Committee on Gender, Race, Inclusion and Diversity in Sport (GRID Committee) have issued the following public statement:
“We welcome IOC’s decision to revert the life ban imposed on Vince Matthews, following his racial injustice protest during Munich’s 1972 Olympic Games. This is a positive development for Sport and a key moment for Social Justice.
The SIGA GRID Committee wishes to congratulate its chair, Brian Lewis, for his persistence and relentless efforts to keep this topic alive and revert both Vince Matthews’ and Wayne Collet’s life suspensions.
The two athletes had their lives and sports careers destroyed for advocating against the pervasive racism and anti-blackness in their country. Wayne Collet passed away without seeing justice, and Vince Matthews had to wait 50 years for it.
The SIGA GRID Committee strongly encourages the whole sporting industry and the wider community to reinforce its commitment to rooting all forms of racism, discrimination and social injustice out of Sport and global society”.
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SIGA is the world´s leading organisation for Sports Integrity. Supported by more than 200 international multi-industry supporters, we are creating a whole new landscape for the global sports industry by promoting the implementation of the highest integrity standards and delivering independent global rating and certification for Sport.
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