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2021-06-27 -Great Cultural Revolution

Hammer thrower Gwen Berry turns away from flag while anthem plays at trials: 'I feel like it was a setup'

[ESPN] EUGENE, Ore. -- For the past week, the national anthem has played one time per evening at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. On Saturday, the song happened to start while outspoken activist Gwen Berry was standing on the podium after receiving her bronze medal in the hammer throw.

While the music played, Berry placed her left hand on her hip and fidgeted. She took a quarter turn, so she was facing the stands, not the flag. Toward the end, she plucked up her black T-shirt with the words "Activist Athlete" emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head.

"I feel like it was a setup, and they did it on purpose,'' Berry said of the timing of the anthem. "I was pissed, to be honest.''
"It's all about meeeeee"
Berry's reaction to the "Star-Spangled Banner'' was as notable as anything on the track on a blazing-hot Saturday, the second-to-last day at U.S. Olympic trials. With temperatures reaching 101 degrees (38 Celsius) on the field, DeAnna Price won the event with a throw of 263 feet, 6 inches (80.31 meters), which was nearly 7 feet longer than Berry's throw.

Clearly activism uses time and energy better put toward mastering basic skills.

Price broke the meet record on four of her six throws, and the last two of those throws also broke the American record.

Second place belonged to Brooke Andersen, while Berry grabbed the third spot by a scant 2 inches over Janee Kassanavoid. Berry, heading to her second Olympics, has promised to use her position in Tokyo to keep raising awareness about social injustices in her home country.

Posted by Besoeker 2021-06-27 07:35|| || Front Page|| [9 views ] Top

#1 Whoever bid for the rights to broadcast the Olympics is going to get the same return for those who have $$$ contracts for the NFL and NBA.

Posted by Procopius2k 2021-06-27 08:13|| 2021-06-27 08:13|| Front Page Top

#2 They might find the international Olympic management have no problem in removing such behaviors from the game along with a quick return flight for any who think they can turn someone else's party into their 'me' moment.

Posted by Procopius2k 2021-06-27 08:15|| 2021-06-27 08:15|| Front Page Top

#3 Appears her arse is hanging out.

Posted by Besoeker 2021-06-27 08:25|| 2021-06-27 08:25|| Front Page Top

#4 ~~Bronze~~ Third place? you stay "home"

Posted by Frank G 2021-06-27 08:41|| 2021-06-27 08:41|| Front Page Top

#5
#2 They might find the international Olympic management have no problem in removing such behaviors from the game along with a quick return flight for any who think they can turn someone else's party into their 'me' moment.
Posted by: Procopius2k 2021-06-27 08:15

...This. And if enough American athletes decide to throw tantrums this time, the IOC may well have no problem at all reading them the riot act for the Paris games in 2024.

Which, frankly, is fine by me. There are occasional stories of genuine courage and sportsmanship among the US athletes, but they are few and far between anymore. They tend to be just as spoiled and entitled as their professional brethren, and now they can add to that politically obnoxious. A pox upon them all.

And one last thought: we heard people screaming bloody murder a few months ago when it was suggested that perhaps we shouldn't grace the Chinese with our presence due to, you know, the genocide and biological warfare stuff. If, however, the IOC decided to preemptively warn US athletes to keep the nonsense down, you'd see a tidal wave of support for a US boycott.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2021-06-27 09:07|| 2021-06-27 09:07|| Front Page Top

#6

Too many US Olympic women are looking more and more like the 1970-1990's East German and USSR Macha Athletes.

Little too grace and even less femininity.

Posted by NN2N1 2021-06-27 09:11|| 2021-06-27 09:11|| Front Page Top

#7 If you don't want to represent your nation stay home, or exchange your citizenship for a country that will take you. It's not like the US has to put up walls to keep people out.

Posted by rjschwarz 2021-06-27 09:13|| 2021-06-27 09:13|| Front Page Top

#8 It would be a POWERFUL statement on behalf of their cause if all of these celebrities and whatevers all dropped their US citizenship enmasse and applied for Cuban citizenship.

Posted by rjschwarz 2021-06-27 09:15|| 2021-06-27 09:15|| Front Page Top

#9 Isn't ~~she~~ [unknown pronoun preferred] utterly precious?

Posted by magpie 2021-06-27 09:45|| 2021-06-27 09:45|| Front Page Top

#10 It's not like the US has to put up walls to keep people out.

Eh?

Posted by g(r)omgoru 2021-06-27 09:48|| 2021-06-27 09:48|| Front Page Top

#11 Autocorrect. I meant to keep people in.

Posted by rjschwarz 2021-06-27 11:04|| 2021-06-27 11:04|| Front Page Top

#12 Put the sentence works if I had put a sarcasm tag on the end.

Posted by rjschwarz 2021-06-27 11:05|| 2021-06-27 11:05|| Front Page Top

#13 Why is this loser representing the US? Put in some guy in dress who can throw a hammer.

Posted by Liz Warren 2021-06-27 16:22|| 2021-06-27 16:22|| Front Page Top

#14 ^^^---- Where is Klinger when we need him? (M.A.S.H.)

Posted by CrazyFool 2021-06-27 16:26|| 2021-06-27 16:26|| Front Page Top

#15 If she doesn't like the Idiot Unionist Occupational Government flag good for her, we can provide another one for her to salute.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2021-06-27 16:44|| 2021-06-27 16:44|| Front Page Top

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