John Carlos John Wesley Carlos ( born June 5 , 1945 ) is a former track and field athlete and professional football player . He was the bronze - medal winner in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics and his Black Power salute on the podium with Tommie Smith caused much political controversy . He went on to tie the world record in the 100 yard dash and beat the 200 meters world record ( although the latter achievement was never ratified ) . After his track career , he enjoyed brief stints in the National Football League and Canadian Football League but retired due to injury . He became involved with the United States Olympic Committee and helped to organize the 1984 Summer Olympics . Following this he became a track coach at Palm Springs High School . He was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2003 . He is the author , with sportswriter Dave Zirin , of " The John Carlos Story : The Sports Moment That Changed the World " , published in 2011 by Haymarket Books . Early life and education . Born in Harlem , New York , of Cuba n descent , John Carlos was a gifted high school athlete and outstanding student who went on to study at East Texas State University on a full track - and - field scholarship . His victories in the 100 and 200 - meter dash and as a member of the 4x400 - meter relay helped lead ETSU to the 1967 Lone Star Conference Championship . After his first year , Carlos enrolled at San Jose State University where he was trained by future National Track & Field Hall of Fame coach , Lloyd ( Bud ) Winter . Career . At the 1968 Olympic Trials , Carlos stunned the track world when he won the 200 - meter dash in 19 . 92 seconds , beating world - record holder Tommie Smith and surpassing his record by 0 . 3 seconds . Though the record was never ratified because the spike formation on Carlos ' shoes ( " brush spikes " ) was not accepted at the time , the race reinforced his status as a world - class sprinter . Carlos became a founding member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights ( OPHR ) , and originally advocated a boycott of the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games unless four conditions were met : withdrawal of South Africa and Rhodesia from the games , restoration of Muhammad Ali ’ s world heavyweight boxing title , Avery Brundage to step down as president of the IOC , and the hiring of more African - American assistant coaches . As the boycott failed to achieve support after the IOC withdrew invitations for South Africa and Rhodesia , he decided , together with Smith , to participate but to stage a protest in case he received a medal . Following his third - place finish behind fellow American Smith and Australian Peter Norman in the 200 at the Mexico Olympics , Carlos and Smith made headlines around the world by raising their black - gloved fists at the medal award ceremony . Both athletes wore black socks and no shoes on the podium to represent African - American poverty in the United States . In support , Peter Norman , the silver medalist who was a white athlete from Australia , participated in the protest by wearing an OPHR badge . IOC president Avery Brundage deemed a political statement unfit for the apolitical , international forum the Olympic Games was supposed to be . In an immediate response to their actions , he ordered Smith and Carlos suspended from the U . S . team and banned from the Olympic Village . Many supporters , however , praised the men for their bravery . The men ' s gesture had lingering effects for all three athletes , the most serious of which were death threats against Carlos , Smith , and their families . Although it has been reported that Carlos and Smith were stripped of their medals , Carlos has indicated this is not true and his medal is with his mother . Carlos had his greatest year in track and field in 1969 , equaling the world 100 - yard record of 9 . 1 , winning the AAU 220 - yard run , and leading San Jose State to its first NCAA championship with victories in the 100 and 220 and as a member of the 4x110 - yard relay . He was also the gold medalist at 200 meters at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada and set indoor world bests in the 60 - yard dash ( 5 . 9 ) and the indoor 220 - yard dash ( 21 . 2 ) . Following his track career , Carlos tried professional football , a 15th round selection in the 1970 NFL Draft , but a knee injury curtailed his one - year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He then went on to the Canadian Football League where he played one season each for the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts . Following his retirement from football , Carlos worked for Puma , the United States Olympic Committee , the Organising Committee of the 1984 Summer Olympics and the City of Los Angeles . In 1985 , Carlos became a counselor and in - school suspension supervisor , as well as the track and field coach , at Palm Springs High School in California . In 2003 , he was elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame . In 2005 , a statue showing Carlos and Smith on the medal stand was constructed by political artist Rigo 23 and dedicated on the campus of San Jose State University . In 2007 , John Carlos was honored at the Trumpet Awards in Las Vegas , Nevada . Carlos is the godfather of Chicago White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams . Carlos and Williams ' father ran track together in college . In April 2008 , Carlos was a torch - bearer for the Human Rights Torch , , which ran in parallel to the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay and focusing attention on China ' s human rights record . On July 16 , 2008 , John Carlos and Tommie Smith accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for their salute , at the 2008 ESPY Awards held at NOKIA Theatre L . A . LIVE in Los Angeles , California . On October 10 , 2011 , Carlos spoke and raised his fist at Occupy Wall Street . He said " Today I am here for you . Why ? Because I am you . We ’ re here forty - three years later because there ’ s a fight still to be won . This day is not for us but for our children to come . ” The following day he appeared on MSNBC and on Current TV ' s " Countdown with Keith Olbermann " . < br >