Celebrating Martin Luther King Junior in 2026

Friends, colleagues, and family: This month, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King spoke of the "fierce urgency of now." He warned against the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. He understood that justice delayed is justice denied.

I think about these words often in my work.

When I filed suit against the United States Olympic Committee in 1980, seeking to let athletes decide for themselves whether to compete in Moscow, I was told to wait. To be patient. That politics would sort itself out. But athletes' dreams do not wait. Careers measured in years, sometimes months, do not wait. The moment passes, and it does not return.

Dr. King knew this. He knew that those who benefit from the status quo will always counsel patience to those who suffer under it.

Sport has long been a frontier of the civil rights movement. Jesse Owens in Berlin. Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico City. Muhammad Ali refusing induction. Billie Jean King demanding equal prize money. Arthur Ashe speaking truth about apartheid. Each of them was told to keep politics out of sport. Each of them understood that there is no such thing as neutral ground when human dignity is at stake.

And today, as we prepare to welcome the world to Los Angeles in 2028, I am reminded that the Games themselves are unfinished work. The Olympic Movement has made progress: equal numbers of men and women now compete; our first woman President leads the IOC; athletes from more nations participate than ever before. But access remains unequal. Resources remain concentrated. Too many young people still cannot reach the starting line.

Dr. King dreamed of a beloved community. In sport, we call it something simpler: a level playing field.

It's not perfect yet. But, we keep building.

Today, I honor Dr. King not with words alone, but with renewed commitment to the work that remains.

The urgency is still fierce. The time is still now.

Happy Martin Luther King, Junior Day!

- Anita

#MLKDay #MartinLutherKingJr #MLK #CivilRights #DrKing #SocialJustice #HumanRights #EndHumanTrafficking #SportForAll #LA28 #OlympicMovement #EqualityInSport #JusticeDelayedIsJusticeDenied #FierceUrgencyOfNow #BelovedCommunity