Does the United Sates Olympic team have no standard when it comes to disciplining their athletes?
Apparently not, after pictures show Team USA’s Gwen Berry completely turning her back towards the American flag while the national anthem was being played.
The Olympic Hammer Thrower didn’t stop the disrespect there but she even placed a shirt over her head that read “Activist Athlete” while the anthem was being played too.
When she received backlash for her self centered stunt, she simply replied that the track organizers “set her up” and said that the national anthem shouldn’t have been played while she was on the podium.
She also went on record to say she was “pissed” that she had to stand up on the podium while the Star Spangled Banner played.
Take a look, at the disgraceful moment:
As the national anthem played while Gwen Berry was on the podium after qualifying for the Olympics, she turned away from the flag and draped a T-shirt with the words "Activist Athlete" over her head.
She felt the timing of the anthem was "a setup": https://t.co/cE22DCQCxB pic.twitter.com/HPPnR2xXyr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 27, 2021
Why does the Left hate America?
Sure, we have our faults, but no nation in the history of the world has liberated more people from captivity, has lifted more out of poverty, has bled more for freedom, or has blessed more w/ abundance.
God bless America. https://t.co/7hH1FMzEn0
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 28, 2021
The New York Post had this to report:
A US hammer thrower turned away from the American flag as the national anthem played while she and two other athletes stood on the podium at the Olympic trials Saturday, later saying she was “pissed” that “The Star-Spangled Banner” played as she received her bronze medal.
Gwen Berry — who qualified for her second US Olympic team during the trials — shifted to face the stands rather than the flag before holding up a black shirt that read, “Activist Athlete.”
“I feel like it was a setup, and they did it on purpose,” Berry said of the anthem being played. “I was pissed, to be honest.
“They had enough opportunities to play the national anthem before we got up there,” Berry said in Oregon, where the trials are being held. “I was thinking about what I should do. Eventually I stayed there and I swayed, I put my shirt over my head.
Despite her own questionable antics while her nation’s anthem played, Berry called out the Olympic trial organizers as being inappropriate — to her. “It was real disrespectful,” she said.
Maybe if Gwen Berry spent less time hating the flag and more time practicing,
she would have taken first place.
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) June 28, 2021
Gwen Berry has a nice life as an athlete throwing hammers for a living in America… so of course she turns her back on the anthem, hates America and claims to be oppressed.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 28, 2021
CNN covered the story too:
Hammer thrower Gwen Berry says that the playing of the national anthem while she was on the podium at the US Olympic track and field trials was “set up.”
Berry turned away from the flag to face the stands while “The Star-Spangled Banner” played during the medal ceremony on Saturday. She then draped a T-shirt bearing the words “activist athlete” over her head.
Having placed third in the hammer event at the trials in Eugene, Oregon, Berry earned a spot on the US team for the Tokyo Olympics, which get underway next month.
John Carlos on IOC ban on protests at Tokyo 2020John Carlos on IOC ban on protests at Tokyo 2020 03:29
“I feel like it was set up. I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest,” said Berry of the anthem being played while she was on the podium.“I was thinking about what should I do. Eventually, I just stayed there and just swayed. I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful. I know they did that on purpose, but it’ll be alright. I see what’s up.”
If you need to bring attention to yourself during the playing of the national anthem then you should just not be part of the United States Olympic team at all.
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