“They stood casually, hands on hips, their jackets unzipped,” The Times reported. “They chatted and fidgeted.”

The obituary added: “When the anthem ended and they climbed off the stand, the crowd booed. Matthews twirled his medal and Collett gave a black power salute.”

The two men were barred from Olympic competition by the International Olympic Committee, an action that The Times described in an editorial as an “authoritarian decree.”

The editorial continued, “Unquestionably, the slouching, defiant posture of the two black athletes did no credit to either, but the persistence they had shown in training up to perfection pitch demonstrated that they had no lack of the Olympic ‘ethic.’”

1973: Fans on Long Island boo college athletes

Fans at a college track meet at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island went from agitated to furious in January 1973 when at least one athlete lay on the ground during the national anthem.

As the music played, at least one runner from Eastern Michigan University continued to warm up on the floor, The Times reported. Another athlete, “wearing an Adelphi uniform, was also observed reclining on the ground.”

Several fans began shouting, the article said, and after the anthem, “most of the 8,551 spectators joined in the booing.”