U.S. Women’s soccer star and outspoken Trump critic Megan Rapinoe, slammed the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to warning against political protests at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
In an Instagram posted on Friday, Rapinoe said that she and her fellow athlete protesters “will not be silenced.”
“So much being done about the protests,” Rapinoe wrote. “So little being done about what we are protesting about.
“We will not be silenced.”
Rapinoe’s post comes after IOC President Thomas Bach made it clear that all participants and support staff at the games are banned from protesting on the field of play, at the opening or closing ceremonies, at the Olympic Village, or on the medal podium.
“If this political neutrality is not respected, then the Olympic Games will divide, and not unite, the world,” Bach explained.
The IOC is specifically outlawing kneeling, hand gestures, and signs, of a political nature.
Much of the impetus for the new rule is due to a pair of incidents at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. In which, fencer Race Imboden knelt on the medal podium and hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised a fist.
Both athletes were handed 12 month probationary punishments.
Rapinoe is no stranger to protests on the field of play. She knelt during the playing of the national anthem before her National Women’s Soccer League games, and has a long track record of staunch opposition to President Trump.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn