During the medal ceremony, both runners refused to stand at attention for the US national anthem.
... As whistles and catcalls continued, Collett raised a clenched fist to the crowd before entering the portal of the dressing room.
[7]Robert Markus reported in the Chicago Tribune on September 9, 1972:[8] [Matthews] was angry at Coach Bill Bowerman—as most of the U.S. trackmen seem to be—because Bowerman had hinted he would like to remove him from the place he had earned in the 400-meter field.
He was angry that he had been forced to train on his own in unsuitable facilities, had to travel 4 or 5 times from N.Y. to the west coast in order to get any kind of competition, and had been put down by some of the press as a drag on America's hopes for a 400-meter sweep.The Chicago Tribune further reported:[9] Matthews said his and Collett's actions were directed at the U.S. coaching staff, not the flag or the National Anthem.
"In an interview after the medal ceremony with the American Broadcasting Company, Collett said the national anthem meant nothing to him.
IOC president Avery Brundage deemed it to be a domestic political statement unfit for the apolitical, international forum the Olympic Games were intended to be.
[6] Matthews stated: I wasn't acting any differently than I usually do, but we were like goldfish in a fishbowl, in front of all those people.
[13][5] This ban also forced the US to scratch from the 4 × 400 meter relay, where the Americans would have been favored to win.
[16] In December 2022, the life bans were lifted by the IOC: while Matthews was still alive at the time, Collett died of cancer in 2010.