Brussels, 19 July 2021

To: President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, President of World Athletics Sebastian Coe

Honourable Excellences,

On July 2nd, the newspaper the Guardian1 reported that the International Swimming Federation (ISF) rejected the ‘Soul Cap’, a swimming cap for natural Black hair, saying it does not ‘fit the natural form of the head’. Soul Cap swimming caps are specifically designed for swimming athletes with Black natural hair, which is “thick, curly, and voluminous”. The ISFs conclusion based on their “best knowledge” saying that “the athletes competing at the international events never used, neither require (…) caps of such size and configuration” consequently lead to a ban of the Soul Cap swimming at the Olympics.

This decision reflects stigmatisation of Black hair and leads to institutional inequalities, especially targeting Black women. Stigmatisation of Black women and their bodies is not a new phenomenon. It has many different forms and we have seen it before in the case of Caster Semenya who has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, the Williams sisters, Simone Biles, and most recently Alice Dearing, who will be the first Black female swimmer in history to represent Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics.

Stigmatization of Black women’s bodies also applies in the case of the two 18-year-old cisgender sprinters from Namibia, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi. They have been banned from running in the Olympic 400-meter dash2 due to their natural high testosterone levels. According to the World Athletics Organisation, their natural testosterone levels are too high for women’s sports. Mboma and Masilingi are only able to join the Olympics if they agree to take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels.

1 https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/02/swimming-caps-for-natural-black-hair-ruled-out-of-olympic- games-alice-dearing 2 https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/07/02/namibia-400-christine-mboma-beatrice-masilingi-testosterone/

The European Union is based on values of equality and non-discrimination. Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union for instance states that Union action shall be aimed at “developing the European dimension in sport, by promoting fairness and openness in sporting competitions and cooperation between bodies responsible for sports, and by protecting the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and sportswomen, especially the youngest”. Furthermore, the EU Anti-racism Action Plan refers to sport as one of the key areas where stereotypes can be countered and where social inclusion can be promoted.

Sports in general, and the Olympics specifically, are supposed to be based on fair play and equal opportunity: may the best person win. Therefore, we urge you to: 1) review these cases of exclusion again; 2) recognise that the rules have an exclusionary nature; 3) establish frameworks and policies to prevent similar cases of exclusion.

It is 2021 and we cannot, on the one hand, plead for more diversity in sports and on the other hand, have institutional structures and rules that exclude people of colour and Black women specifically. This worrisome trend also affects European athletes and therefore needs to be tackled accordingly.

Yours sincerely,

ARDI Bureau , Member of the , ARDI Co-President Romeo Franz, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Co-President Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Co-President Mónica Silvana González, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Co-President

ARDI Members Dietmar Köster, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member Milan Brglez, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member , Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member Hannah Neumann, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member , Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member Abir Al-Sahlani, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member Salima Yenbou, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member Alice Kuhnke, Member of the European Parliament, ARDI Member