Can someone show me where IOC Rule 40 says Athletes can't thank their sponsors?

I've always wondered why winners don't acknowledge their sponsors like NASCAR drivers do.

Post-race interview Emma Coburn:

"It was a great win. I went out hard and gave it my all. These New Balance spikes were the bomb today; made my feet feel awesome while setting an American record."

That's basically what a winning NASCAR driver does.

Here is Rule 40 (IOC Charter) in all its glory (italics in original).

So you really want bye-law 3. The "Team USA guidelines" seem to go rather further, probably to codify what is "permitted by the IOC Executive Board".

But my reading of bye-law 3 is that "thanking sponsors" is using one's person (etc) to be used for advertising purposes.

sigh. My wife did some IQ testing for some people who went to Yale. Her conclusion was that many aren't that smart. Wejo fits that.

It's not hard. Thanking the sponsor is clearly advertising. How come more runners don't do it in regular meets?

If they did or did it on twitter after big races, you could make the argument that it's not. But it's pretty clear the "sponsor" is trying to take advantage of the Olympics.

Nick Symmonds was tweeting about some fancy-pants gum. Do you think he will get in trouble for violating rule 40?

sekond guesser wrote:

Thanking the sponsor is clearly advertising.

But, can Nike be thanked? Or be allowed to wear the Swoosh at teh Gsmes thanks enough?

Thank the Swoosh wrote:

sekond guesser wrote:

Thanking the sponsor is clearly advertising.

But, can Nike be thanked? Or be allowed to wear the Swoosh at teh Gsmes thanks enough?

Nike is an official supplier. i don't know what status confers.

Bring Back the 880 wrote:

Nick Symmonds was tweeting about some fancy-pants gum. Do you think he will get in trouble for violating rule 40?

He's not an olympian.

sekond guesser wrote:

Thank the Swoosh wrote:

But, can Nike be thanked? Or be allowed to wear the Swoosh at teh Gsmes thanks enough?

Nike is an official supplier. i don't know what status confers.

So, Rupp, Centro, etc. can thank Nike?

sekond guesser wrote:

Bring Back the 880 wrote:

Nick Symmonds was tweeting about some fancy-pants gum. Do you think he will get in trouble for violating rule 40?

He's not an olympian.

Thats weird. I thought he had a bye to the games. Why else would he have skipped the trials?

Thanking someone is not advertising.

Also, the games haven't started. Why is this rule in effect now?

So what if the athketes, one by one, ignored rule 40 and thanked their sponsors, or even better, bashed the official sponsors?

What could they do, strip everyone of their medals? That would be the biggest black eye of sports history that would be talked about for a hunder years.

Athletes unite, stand up and fight the power. The IOC will blink first.

Thanking someone is not advertising.

Thanking a sponsor, however, is advertising. Such promotionalism is, after all, why they are sponsoring you in the first place.

Also, the games haven't started. Why is this rule in effect now?

Because the rule (or interpretation of the bye-law) says that they apply during the "Period of the Olympics Games", which has started.

IOC Guidelines: These guidelines apply ... during the period of such Olympic Games. For these purposes, the relevant period begins nine days prior to the Opening Ceremony and concludes at the end of the third day after the Closing Ceremony, i.e. 27 July 2016 until 24 August 2016 (hereinafter the “Period of the Olympic Games”).

But I agree with you, the IOC should redraft bye-law 3 to be more clear what "during" means, rather than rely on a "Guidelines" interpretation.

en during wrote:

But I agree with you, the IOC should redraft bye-law 3 to be more clear what "during" means, rather than rely on a "Guidelines" interpretation.

Obviously, non-Nike watches will be banned during the game. Smartwatches could display evil competitor's logos, or obviously be a competitor's non-Nike acceptable design.

And then non-Nike spikes. Those can't be shown either, let alone worn. Just leave them at home. The won't fit the Nike shoes anyway.

In 2020 . . . say welcome to the Nike Olympic Games.

Why is Rule 40 protected in US Cartel and Collusion laws? Essentially the current sponsors have come together to the IOC and said we don't want competition because we already pay enough, we don't want to pay more/fair market value.

I'm not a law expert but it seems like it fits the bill.