The 1972 Olympics Black Power Salute took place when two African American track and field athletes, Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett, staged a political protest during the medal ceremony for the Men’s 400 meters at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. This event is often referred to as “The Forgotten Protest,” as it is not as widely recognized as the 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos, which occurred four years earlier in Mexico City.
Matthews had also competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal as part of the 4×400 meter relay team, which set a world record of 2:56.16. In the 1972 Olympics, Matthews won gold and Collett won silver in the Men’s 400 meters. During the medal ceremony, both athletes refused to stand at attention for the US national anthem. They also stroked their beards and twirled their medals as they exited the stadium. This behavior prompted boos from the German crowd. The media also responded very negatively; the Associated Press (AP) described their conduct during the anthem as disrespectful.
According to the Chicago Tribune, one reason Matthews and Collett refused to stand was due to tensions with the US track coaching staff, particularly head coach Bill Bowerman. There was speculation that Bowerman wanted to remove Matthews from the team.
In an interview with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) after the ceremony, Collett stated that the national anthem meant nothing to him. He explained that he could not honor the anthem due to the injustices African Americans were facing in the United States at the time. Collett said, “I couldn’t stand there and sing the words because I don’t believe they’re true. I wish they were. I believe we have the potential to have a beautiful country, but I don’t think we do.”
As a result of their actions, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned both athletes for life from future Olympic competitions. However, their protest was soon overshadowed by the Munich Massacre, in which eight members of the Palestinian militant group, Black September, took members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage and murdered them.
Despite the ban, both Matthews and Collett continued their lives successfully. Matthews became an artist, creating burned images on wood panels. His work was displayed with the Art of the Olympians. In 2011, he was inducted into the USA Track & Field (USATF) National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
Collett earned both a Juris Doctor (JD) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from UCLA in 1971. He later worked in real estate and mortgage finance. Collett passed away on March 17, 2010, from cancer, at the age of 60 in Los Angeles, California. In 2022, the IOC officially lifted the lifetime bans imposed on both athletes.
