“Sports Must Unite the World” in Statement Released by Olympic Movement [UPDATED]

Updated Sept. 19, 2025 at 9:50 PM with info from the White House.

Recognizing that sports occurs within the framework of society, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a statement approved by the IOC Executive Board that called for peace and unity through the sporting movement.

“Unfortunately, there are many wars and conflicts affecting millions of innocent people in this world. Every victim of a war is one too many,” the IOC said in the statement. “The IOC deeply believes that differences between nations must be resolved through dialogue, not violence.”

IOC President Kirsty Coventry indicated that this statement was spurred by a collective look at the divisions and conflicts of the world, and hoped that they would move towards peace.

“Every single executive board member was taken back and saddened, really, when you look at the world today,” Coventry explained. “It was really very empowering actually for us to sit around and discuss.”

Coventry indicated that there was no particular event that occurred that spurred the conversation. Rather, it was a result of looking at events at a global view.

For US sports fans and athletes, the statement comes in the wake of the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk. Kirk’s death rocked the nation due to his association with President Trump.

The statement also highlighted the role of athletes in advancing the cause of peace and unity. Referring back to the Paris 2024 games, the IOC highlighted that 206 nations and the Refugee Olympic Team lived together in the Olympic Village.

“Athletes have an incredible opportunity to showcase the Olympic values and play the role of peace ambassadors in line with the Fundamental Principles of Olympism,” the statement said.

The IOC, which observes political neutrality, also established a working group for Protection of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism. The group hopes to work on the international stage to protect the Olympic movement and IOC neutrality.

For Coventry’s part, she is looking forward to attending the United Nations General Assembly next week, and is particularly planning to speak to world leaders about these topics.

Through a spokeswoman, the White House confirmed that Coventry is not on President Trump’s schedule for the UN General Assembly.

“President Trump’s Olympics Task Force has enabled historic cooperation with organizations like the International Olympic Committee to execute a spectacular, world-class event,” the spokeswoman said. “While [meeting President Coventry] is not on the President’s calendar during the United Nations General Assembly, he will continue to be involved in preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, whose bid he secured in his first term.”

Coventry is looking forward to her conversations with other world leaders.

“Now more than ever, our movement, the sports movement, has to showcase the good,” she observed.