Justice for Jim! Wins Fully Reinstated by IOC

We did it... TOGETHER!!! More than 75K of you signed our petition, and the International Olympics Committee listened! So today, on the 110th anniversary of his medal ceremony, Jim Thorpe is finally restored as the rightful and sole gold medal-winner of the 1912 Decathlon and Pentathlon! 🥇🥇

In July of 1912, Jim captivated the world in Stockholm, where King Gustaf V proclaimed him “the World’s Greatest Athlete.” It turned Jim Thorpe, a Sac and Fox & Potawatomi farm boy from Oklahoma into the first celebrity-athlete in history. 🤩

Even though the World’s Greatest Athlete represented the USA 🇺🇸 at the Olympics before Native Americans were even granted U.S. citizenship, not even the mighty Jim Thorpe was protected from racism and jealousy. Six months after the Games, an unfair and obscure application of rules governing amateur play led to one of the biggest sports scandals ever.

Pop Warner, Jim’s own coach from Carlisle, entered Jim’s room when Jim wasn’t home, packed his medals from the 1912 Games and shipped them back to the IOC.

Following the scandal, Jim never complained, and according to his family, it was rarely mentioned. He went on to a long & stellar football career, helping found the @NFL and even played professional baseball & basketball. After retiring from sports in his 40s, he worked an actor in more than 70 movies until he died from heart disease in 1953.

The IOC eventually awarded duplicate medals to Jim’s family 30 years after his death. Despite some records standing unbroken for more than 60 years, the official record has still listed Jim as a “co-champion” – until now! The IOC announced today that Jim will again be listed as the first place winner of his events.

We want to thank our team here at Bright Path Strong, our many tribal partners, authors/historians Bob Wheeler and Flo Ridlon, our non-profit and academic partners, and allies like Olympians Billy Mills (Lakota) and Anita DeFrantz. Last but not least, we especially want to thank our loyal supporters like all of you! Without our amazing #BrightPathStrong community, this glorious day may have never come. ⚡️

Miigwetch!!

https://brightpathstrong.org/justice-for-jim-thorpe/ ...