Tommie Smith and John Carlos | ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage Special
After the U.S. Olympic Trials, the OPHR’s boycott was cancelled due to inadequate support. However, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, both integral members of the OPHR, had qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team. In Mexico City, Smith finished first in the 200-meter dash, setting a new world record, while Carlos finished third. On the victory stand, they decided to each wear one black glove and, while the American National Anthem played, they each raised a gloved fist over their heads-the black power salute. Additionally, they wore no shoes, just black socks, to symbolize the poverty in black America. Subsequently, the IOC kicked them out of the Olympic Village and when they returned home, many Americans were upset with them as well; their families even received death threats. Both of them continued in athletics. Smith later played football with the Cincinnati Bengals before becoming an assistant professor at Oberlin and a U.S. National Team coach. Carlos played football for the Philadelphia Eagles before working as a community liaison for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.