U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee will allow raised fists and kneeling during national anthem at trials

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said Tuesday that it will allow athletes to kneel during the national anthem and raise their fists at Olympic trials, as the organization continues to review the decades-long policy of banning protests at the Games ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

In a nine-page document released Tuesday, the committee outlined racial and social demonstrations that would "not be punished or undermined" by the USOPC or impact an athlete's participation in the Olympic and Paralympic Trials events. The guidance, which came with the help of the athlete-led Team USA Council on Racial and Social Justice, comes months after the USOPC announced in December it would not discipline players for protesting peacefully at the Olympics and Pan American Games.  USOPC CEO Sarah Hirchland said in a letter to athletes that the new rules defines the "latitude" for them to "express their personal perspectives on racial and social justice in a respectful way, and without fear of sanction from the USOPC."