This should not be a difficult decision: If an athlete literally representing the United States of America will not stand respectfully for the U.S. flag and anthem, the athlete can find another country that doesn’t offend them as much.
The issue arises again after a female hammer thrower named Gwen Berry turned her back to the flag and covered her head with a black protest shirt as the anthem played during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on June 26.
Berry, who finished a distant third in the event, had the gall and narcissism to say she thought the anthem’s timing was a “setup” done “on purpose” to embarrass her in particular — presumably because she had been an outspoken protester against “systemic racism” raising her fist during the anthem at the Pan-Am Games two years ago.
Unlike during the Olympics themselves, the anthem is played just once daily at the trials. But the schedule for the anthem is announced in advance, and it just so happened that the hammer throw ended at a time when its medal ceremony coincided with the anthem.
The larger issue, of course, isn’t whether the anthem was all about Berry, but whether her behavior is fitting for a U.S. Olympian.
This has nothing to do with freedom of speech or the right to protest. Athletes can protest all they want. Some of us may think it isn’t fitting in general to protest during the anthem at an ordinary athletic event, but still believe the spirit (not the letter) of First Amendment speech rights counsels that leagues should not formally prohibit such protests.
The Olympics are different.
The modern Olympics were conceived and designed not merely as a venue for individual athletic competition but also as a force for world peace. The idea was that by representing nations rather than just one’s self, athletes would show that international tensions or rivalries could be set aside for the purpose of honorable, amicable competition under rules applicable to all.
If it is just individual athletes who shake hands when competition is over, it means far less symbolically than if, for example, someone formally identified with Pakistan shakes the hand of someone formally identified with India.
That is why the Olympics are officially organized according to nationality. (In rare cases, such as when their nations have no Olympic committees because of war or other plagues, athletes can petition the International Olympic Committee to participate under the IOC flag, but those exceptions are not granted lightly.) Athletes who do not want to represent their country of birth are entitled to change citizenship/nationality status. Or, if they enjoy dual citizenship, they have a choice of the two nations.
Otherwise, though, they must represent their nation or stay home.
If Gwen Berry wants to represent the U.S. at the Olympics, she should not insult her fellow citizens by dishonoring its flag and anthem. Yes, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, bowing to Left-wing activists, recently said it would not enforce the IOC’s Rule 50, which prohibits political demonstrations at the Olympics.
As explained above, the capitulation was a mistake: A nation has every good reason to insist on at least a modicum of respect from athletes competing officially under its auspices.
The IOC notes athletes can express their political views at press conferences, on social media, or in other venues during the games. Still, in the wise words of the official report of the IOC Athlete’s Commission, “Rule 50 aims to protect the political, religious, and racial neutrality of a few strictly defined locations (field of play, Olympic Village) and of a few strictly defined moments (Olympic medal ceremonies, Opening, Closing and other official Ceremonies) which form the core of the Olympic Games.”
The Olympics is and always was intended to be an apolitical zone. That’s why the overwhelming majority of international athletes themselves determined, via that committee, that allowing protests during anthems would do grave harm to the “Olympic spirit” by “politicizing the IOC and alienating countries or athletes.”
If Gwen Berry will not abide by those rules, she should not compete in the Olympics in Tokyo. Better yet, unless she agrees to abide by them, the USOPC should replace her on the national team.
