Feeling humiliated because he and his team were excluded from the Giro, Filippo Simeoni has publicly binned his jersey as the Italian road-racing champion.
Simeoni has been a man of gestures, yet history is littered with athletes who have made a stand and at the same time effectively flushed their careers down the pan.
On the morning of October 16, 1968,U.S. athlete Tommie Smith won the 200 meter race in a then-world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Smith accepted his medal shoeless to represent black poverty, he wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride and along with Bronze medal winner John Carlos wore a black glove and raised their hands to salute Black power. What happened afterwards? Both athletes were banned from the games, expelled from the village and ostracized by the American athletics federation.
Henry Olonga and Andy Flower, two Zimbabwe cricketers wore black armbands during the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, 'mourning the death of democracy' in their country, terrorised by President Robert Mugabe.
Their cricket union predictably responded by reprimanding the pair for their protest. Olonga was subsequently forced into hiding and fled the country straight after the tournament, while Flower was already leaving for England.
More recently Frederic Kanoute scored for Seville against Deportivo La Coruna, he slowly lifted his jersey and revealed a black shirt embossed with the word 'Palestine' in various languages.
Kanoute, a French-born Muslim who plays for Mali, had made his political point. It earned him a booking for lifting his shirt and, later, a €3,000 fine for breaking article 120 of the Spanish FA's rule book.
So what is likely to happen Simeoni? The tifosi are divided, many think his team is simply not strong enough to race the Giro, the more nationalistic fans are outraged that their champion will not don the Azzurri and race their premier event. However, history has taught us that the bold political gestures by athletes trigger the beginning of the end. Aged 37, Simeoni must surely realize that this is his last foray into the limelight. [Filippo Simeoni Pro Rider 1995 – 2009]
He turned in the azzurri to the country’s cycling federation on Monday to protest his exclusion from the Giro. Simeoni’s career, albeit
mediocre has been high profile. This is the rider who publicly questioned Armstrong’s integrity over doping issues, was chased down by Armstrong while in a break of minor riders in the tour and carried his bike over the line while winning a stage of the Vuelta to show solidarity with victims of 9/11.
On the morning of October 16, 1968,U.S. athlete Tommie Smith won the 200 meter race in a then-world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Smith accepted his medal shoeless to represent black poverty, he wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride and along with Bronze medal winner John Carlos wore a black glove and raised their hands to salute Black power. What happened afterwards? Both athletes were banned from the games, expelled from the village and ostracized by the American athletics federation.
Henry Olonga and Andy Flower, two Zimbabwe cricketers wore black armbands during the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, 'mourning the death of democracy' in their country, terrorised by President Robert Mugabe.
Their cricket union predictably responded by reprimanding the pair for their protest. Olonga was subsequently forced into hiding and fled the country straight after the tournament, while Flower was already leaving for England.
More recently Frederic Kanoute scored for Seville against Deportivo La Coruna, he slowly lifted his jersey and revealed a black shirt embossed with the word 'Palestine' in various languages.
Kanoute, a French-born Muslim who plays for Mali, had made his political point. It earned him a booking for lifting his shirt and, later, a €3,000 fine for breaking article 120 of the Spanish FA's rule book.
So what is likely to happen Simeoni? The tifosi are divided, many think his team is simply not strong enough to race the Giro, the more nationalistic fans are outraged that their champion will not don the Azzurri and race their premier event. However, history has taught us that the bold political gestures by athletes trigger the beginning of the end. Aged 37, Simeoni must surely realize that this is his last foray into the limelight. [Filippo Simeoni Pro Rider 1995 – 2009]
