2 American athletes protested at the Pan American Games. The Olympic committee is not happy.

(Image credit: Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

last updated 11 August 2019

Two American athletes now face possible discipline after they staged silent protests at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, this weekend.

Fencer Race Imboden took a knee on the medal stand as his U.S. men's foil team celebrated gold on Friday. He said he was "honored" to represent the U.S. at the games, but the country's "multiple shortcomings" concerning racism, gun control, and President Trump, among other things, caused him to sacrifice the moment on the stand.

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The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee was not thrilled with the displays. Mark Jones, the organization's vice president of communications, said in a statement to ESPN on Sunday that refraining from political demonstrations is a term of eligibility on the Olympic circuit. "In these cases, the athletes didn't adhere to the commitment they made to the organizing committee and the USOPC," he said. The USOPC is reviewing what consequences may result.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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