Just most of the good little social justice warriors today, Gwen Berry went from loving the American flag and everything it represents to desecrating the flag for whatever idiotic cause she claims to represent.
We have watched over the past few years how so many have come to disrespect the American flag. Yet at the same time, they stake a claim to the constitutional rights that the flag represents. They stake a claim to their freedom of speech and freedom to protest.
While at the same time they fail to realize how many sacrificed everything in defense of that flag. So many sacrificed everything in defense of the principles that the flag represents.
Gwen Berry made a spectacle out of the fact that our National Anthem was played while she was on the podium receiving her BRONZE MEDAL. She didn’t even win the event she was competing in.
And, all that did was take away from the athlete who actually won!
The irony of all of this is that Berry claims she was “set up” when they played our National Anthem while she was on the podium.
Of course, NBC News couldn’t wait to cover this race-baiting story:
Hammer thrower Gwen Berry, who turned away from the American flag as the national anthem played as she stood on a podium during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, said she felt blindsided by the timing of the song.
Berry placed third Saturday at the trials in Eugene, Oregon, earning a trip to the Tokyo Olympics next month.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was played once a night at the trials, and it began as Berry was on the podium after receiving her bronze medal. The first- and second-place finishers, DeAnna Price and Brooke Andersen, stood on the top two steps of the podium.
“I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,” Berry said of the timing of the anthem, according to The Associated Press. “I was pissed, to be honest.”
As the song played, Berry turned to face the stands, away from the flag, and eventually draped a black T-shirt that read “Activist, Athlete,” over her head.
Berry said she thought the song was going to play before the athletes took to the podium.
“They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there,” Berry said, according to the AP. “But I don’t really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has.”
According to Reuters, Berry, 31, said there were opportunities to play the anthem before they were on the podium.
“They had enough opportunities to play the national anthem before we got up there. … I was thinking about what I should do,” she said. “Eventually I stayed there and I swayed, I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful.”
“It really wasn’t a message. I didn’t really want to be up there,” she said, according to Reuters. “Like I said, it was a setup. I was hot, I was ready to take my pictures and get into some shade.”
USA Track and Field spokeswoman Susan Hazzard said in a statement that the national anthem was scheduled to play at 5:20 p.m. Saturday.
“We didn’t wait until the athletes were on the podium for the Hammer Throw awards, the national anthem is played every day according to a previously published schedule,” she said.
It’s hard to believe someone who once loved the American flag could be so offended by our National Anthem.
Frankly, if one is so offended by the national anthem of the country they are supposed to be representing they should no longer compete on the behalf of that nation.
Nonetheless, photos surfaced of Gwen Berry who once draped herself in the American flag and apparently showed quite a bit of pride in her nation.
Gwen Berry's PR team forgot to update her website…https://t.co/qcGJc5qxMd pic.twitter.com/3xcbHBK7Ni
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 30, 2021
Totally not all an act! She was definitely not protesting to get attention for herself and/or maybe some of those woke Nike sponsorship dollars. 100% legit and not at all a cottage industry victimization scheme we see so much of these days. https://t.co/OSjnPDCKTe
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 30, 2021
Fox News reported on just how much Berry seemed to love this country:
An old photo of Gwen Berry, the Olympian hammer thrower who came under the spotlight over the weekend for turning her back while the national anthem sounded, went viral on Wednesday.
The picture, dug up by internet sleuths, showed Berry joyously holding the American flag as she kept her dream to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Rio Olympics alive. The photo appears on Berry’s old personal website touting her accomplishments.
It’s unclear when the photo was taken. The blog post is dated June 12, 2015. Berry had come in first at the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival in Mexico City in the hammer throw event. The page was made to showcase Berry before she eventually made the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
The photo made the rounds on social media with some questioning what changed over the last six years.
Berry finished in third place at the trials and made the team set to head to Tokyo next month for the coronavirus-delayed Olympic Games. But she drew negative attention when she turned away from the American flag as the national anthem blared and later would cover her face with a shirt that read “Activist Athlete.”
Amid scrutiny and boisterous claims she shouldn’t be representing the U.S. in the Games, Berry fired back in an interview with the Black News Channel on Tuesday.
“I never said that I didn’t want to go to the Olympic Games, that’s why I competed and got third and made the team,” Berry said.
“I never said that I hated the country. I never said that. All I said was I respect my people enough to not stand for or acknowledge something that disrespects them. I love my people. Point blank, period.”
Do you agree that athletes who refuse to take pride in the country they are representing should be prohibited from competing on the behalf of that nation?
Let us know in the comments below!
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!