The captain of the German women's hockey team, Nike Lorenz, will be sporting a rainbow-coloured band on her socks during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to symbolise sexual diversity. The International Olympic Council has accepted her request, which was put forward by the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) and the Hockey-Bund (German Hockey Federation), according to DOSB.
The DOSB President Alfons Hormann was happy with the development and said, "We are pleased that we have found a way together that enables the hockey team to make a socio-political statement."
The 24-year-old defender later thanked the DOSB and the Hockey-Bund for their support. "I'm really happy .... It feels incredibly good to have given my teammates the space on the field that they deserve. Every single trait of us now officially has its place. Love always wins! "
Earlier this month, the International Olympic Committee had issued guidelines allowing athletes to express their views before and after competing, but not on the podium.
Five women's soccer teams took a knee ahead of their opening games at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. First it was teams from Great Britain and Chile, and then the Swedish and American teams, who took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Before facing their arch-rivals Australia in their opening match, the New Zealand team took a knee as well. Whereas, the women from down-under stood with their arms locked together and later posed with their country's indigenous flag.
On 21 July, IOC President Thomas Bach had said kneeling was not a violation of the organization's rules.
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