Submitted by: Athletes United for Peace (AUP), an NGO in Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC For over 50 years, Athletes United for Peace (AUP) has used sport as a vehicle for peace, inclusion, and social transformation. AUP’s programs have united athletes from diverse backgrounds to promote community engagement, social justice, and equitable access to sports. Through initiatives spanning basketball, track and field, and other disciplines, AUP has demonstrated the power of sport in fostering racial unity and breaking down barriers of discrimination. 1.
"Amid the Vietnam War, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle declared how players should stand during the anthem — in line, helmet under left arm, right hand on heart, facing the flag.
“I didn’t do that,” said Meggyesy, now 75 years old. “I had my helmet down in front of me and bowed my head, and clearly I was out of sync with everybody else. … I was kind of following in the path of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, thinking — what could I do that could indicate my objection to the war, as well as the ordering of me to be a patriot? ..."
Inputs for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Report on A World of Sport Free from Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance
Submitted by: Athletes United for Peace (AUP), an NGO in Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC For over 50 years, Athletes United for Peace (AUP) has used sport as a vehicle for peace, inclusion, and social transformation. AUP’s programs have united athletes from diverse backgrounds to promote community engagement, social justice, and equitable access to sports. Through initiatives spanning basketball, track and field, and other disciplines, AUP has demonstrated the power of sport in fostering racial unity and breaking down barriers of discrimination. 1.