The International Olympic Committee has banned Olympians from wearing stickers on their helmets to honor Sarah Burke, the late Canadian freestyle skier and pioneer who was responsible for getting the superpipe event into the Olympics.
Burke died in 2012 at the age of 29 after a skiing accident in Utah in which she suffered irreversible damage to her brain.
Australian snowboarder Torah Bright, who was a close friend of Burke’s, was ordered to remove a sticker honoring her late friend from her helmet on Saturday because the IOC considered it a “political statement.”
She shared her experience on Instagram:
Tonight marks the beginning of the 2014 Olympic Games. I am at these Olympics for multiple reason. Firstly, to represent my country and share with the world the sport which has blessed my life with beauty and joy. I am also here to honor my great friend Sarah Burke who left this world two years ago. I ride with a Sarah sticker on my snowboard and helmet always. The IOC however, consider Sarah stickers “a political statement” and have banned them. WOW. Sarah is a beautiful, talented, powerful women, who’s spirit inspires me still. She is a big reason why skier pipe/slope are now Olympic events.
The IOC reportedly allowed people to put tape on their boots to honor Burke but would not allow anything on their helmets.
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