Olympic Athlete “Pissed” Anthem Played at Trials, Turns Away
A US Olympic hammer thrower turned away from the American flag as the national anthem played while her and two other athletes stood on the podium receiving recognition at the trials Saturday.
Gwendolyn Berry, the self proclaimed activist athlete, said she was “pissed” the “Star-Spangled Banner” played as she received her bronze (third place) medal.
Potentially it would be in Berry’s best interest to focus on her craft rather than politics, maybe she would have played higher if that were the case.
Berry, who qualified for her second US Olympic team during the trails, turned away from the flag when the anthem began to play showing her discontent.
“I feel like it was a set-up, 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,”
“I was thinking about what I should do. Eventually I stayed there and I swayed, I put my shirt over my head.”
Despite her pathetic scene of political activism while her nation’s anthem played, Berry called out the Olympic trial organizers as being inappropriate, “It was real disrespectful.”
‘”I didn’t really want to be up there,” she said. “Like I said, it was a setup. I was hot, I was ready to take my pictures and get into some shade.”
Winner DeAnna Price and second-place finisher Brooke Andersen stood on the podium with their hands over their hearts and stared straight ahead at the flag, Berry turned away and paced then finally grabbed her t-shirt.
This isn’t the first time Berry has put her political activism before her country or Olympic and team it most likely won’t be the last.
Do you think Berry should be expelled from Olympic sports? Is she a disgrace to her country? Comment your thoughts below!