During and right before the games of 1968 there were two main controversies surrounding the games. First came the Tlatelolco massacre. There were 40 plus confirmed deaths from this massacre. Of course one of the first results of this massacre were the thoughts from civilians wanting to cancel the games. However, they decided that the games would in fact still be held in Mexico City. Most people blamed students for the massacre, and when the games began students flew a kite shaped like a bird over the presidential box a sort of protest against repression.
The second controversy that appeared in the 1968 games was the Black Power Salute. After a 200 meter race. the gold medalist and the bronze medalist both went onto the podium with no shoes on and wearing black socks then proceeded to raise their fists with a black glove on during the national anthem. Many people had a problem with this because they felt that politics did not have any role to play in the olympics. The two runners named Tommie Smith and John Carlos were both suspended from the American team and kicked out of the olympic village. A similar incident occured when Vera Caslavska turned her head and put it down when they played the Soviet national anthem. She was protesting the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. She was also banned from many events in and out of the games for many years.
The second controversy that appeared in the 1968 games was the Black Power Salute. After a 200 meter race. the gold medalist and the bronze medalist both went onto the podium with no shoes on and wearing black socks then proceeded to raise their fists with a black glove on during the national anthem. Many people had a problem with this because they felt that politics did not have any role to play in the olympics. The two runners named Tommie Smith and John Carlos were both suspended from the American team and kicked out of the olympic village. A similar incident occured when Vera Caslavska turned her head and put it down when they played the Soviet national anthem. She was protesting the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. She was also banned from many events in and out of the games for many years.