August 8, 2008 9:26 AM

My Favorite Olympic Moment

1968. I was 15 and on my high school track team. At age 15, it had been the darkest of years - King murdered. Bobby Kennedy murdered. Riots. And in Mexico City, up to a 1000 students and workers killed by the police just before the Olympics.

And into this moment came Tommie Smith and John Carlos, winning the gold and the bronze in the 200 meters, raised black gloved fists, shoeless to denote black poverty, beads to represent lynching - all part of the Olympic Project for Human Rights created by Harry Edwards. The silver medalist, white Australian Peter Norman, joined in by wearing an OPHR button.

In my view, their silent protect was respectful and dignified. I was moved beyond words.

The international olympic committee was fierce in its response - Smith and Carlos had to be ejected from the team, leave the Olympic Village, and lose their medals. The U.S. committee initially refused, and relented when Brundage threatened to ban the entire team.

These were eloquent men who were demonized and received numerous death threats. Time has proven them to have been right in their demands.

With the Olympics now a gigantic commercial amidst all of the magnificent individual and team efforts, will NBC cover the inevitable protests? Would that serve the interests of the advertisers, let alone the host Chinese? In 1968, as might be the case now, the only way to gain coverage was to have those who won silently inject a dignified protest into the awards ceremony itself.