Wayne Collett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Silver 1972 Munich 400 metres
Wayne Curtis Collett (October 20, 1949 – March 17, 2010) was an African American Olympic athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
He competed for the United States in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany in the 400 metres where he won the silver medal. During the medal ceremony Collett and winner Vincent Matthews talked to each other, shuffled their feet, stroked their chins and fidgeted while the US national anthem played,[1] leading many to believe it was a Black Power protest like that of Tommie Smith and John Carlos in 1968. Leaving the arena after the ceremony, Collett gave a Black Power salute.
The Associated Press noted that the casual behavior of Matthews and Collett during the playing of the anthem as "disrespectful," and described the conduct as follows:
:"Collett, bare-footed, leaped from the No. 2 tier to the No. 1 stand beside his teammate. They stood sideways to the flag, twirling their medals, with Matthews stroking his chin. Their shoulders slumped, neither stood erect nor looked at the flag. ... As whistles and catcalls continued, Collett raised a clenched fist to the crowd before entering the portal of the dressing room."[2]
In an interview after the medal ceremony with the American Broadcasting Company, Collett said the national anthem meant nothing to him.[1] He explained that he had felt unable to honor the anthem because of the struggle faced by African Americans at the time: "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." The pair were banned from future Olympic competition by the IOC. This and John Smith's injury meant that the USA no longer had enough men to fill a 4x400 m relay team and were forced to withdraw from the contest.
He graduated from UCLA in 1971, and later earned an MBA and law degree from there. He practiced law and worked in real estate and mortgages.[3]
He died after a long battle with cancer at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles on March 17, 2010, aged 60.[4]
No comments:
Post a Comment