U.S. hammer thrower Gwen Berry failed to medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday after promising to protest and &#8220;represent the oppressed&#8221; if she were to make it to the podium.
Berry finished in eleventh place out of twelve competitors, registering a distance of 71.35 meters in the hammer throw, <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/08/03/gwen-berry-fails-to-medal-after-olympic-trial-flag-controversy/">according</a> to the New York Post.
The athlete made headlines during the Olympic trials in June. While on stage receiving her medal, Berry <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anthem-snubbing-gwen-berry-sponsored-by-puma-defund-the-police-advocates">turned her back</a> to the flag and held up a t-shirt that read “Activist Athlete” when the anthem started playing.
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Days before her showing at the trials, Berry <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/21/gwen-berry-puma-us-olympic-track-trials/">told</a> The Washington Post that representing America has been an issue for her since the country allegedly works to disenfranchise black Americans.
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“For me, it’s always been something that’s been underlyingly uncomfortable, knowing that I’m rocking this big ‘USA’ across my chest when everything about America is to demean and to keep Black people at the bottom of the totem pole,” she said. “It has always, always, always been something I have been very uncomfortable with. I’m glad I’m able to say that without being punished or without being misunderstood.&#8221;
“I try to compartmentalize it. I try to say, ‘The USA can mean a lot of things.’ I try to give it my own meaning, just to say that I do deserve to represent a country that my people have built uncompensated, have worked for and have survived throughout,” Berry continued. “I just have to give myself a different meaning of it, regardless of how uncomfortable I am with what it is sometimes.”
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/team-usas-gwen-berry-says-she-will-stage-protest-if-she-medals-at-olympics-ill-represent-the-oppressed-people">The Daily Wire</a>, Berry said in a post-qualifier interview Saturday that she intends to make a political statement if she were to medal:
<blockquote>“I feel like I’ve earned the right to wear this uniform,” Berry said first, addressing critics who claimed she should be replaced by a more patriotic athlete, or that she could forgo her position on Team USA if competing under the American flag was a problem. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-lawmakers-veterans-call-for-gwen-berry-to-lose-olympic-spot-over-anthem-protest">The Daily Wire previously reported</a>, some lawmakers had floated the idea of booting Berry from the team if she continued to denigrate the United States.
“I’ll represent the oppressed people,” Berry added. “That’s been my message for the last three years.”</blockquote>
Notably, Berry is sponsored by athletic brand Puma, a relationship she secured through a pro-“Defund the Police” group called Color of Change, which has sponsored Berry since last September.
“We’re proud to sponsor [Berry], to have negotiated a sponsorship with [Puma] and to continue to push corporations to support Black athletes who speak out for our communities. Grateful for Gwen’s leadership today and every day,” Color of Change posted to Twitter. “Thank you Color of Change for always standing with me,” Berry responded.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/team-usas-gwen-berry-says-she-will-stage-protest-if-she-medals-at-olympics-ill-represent-the-oppressed-people">Team USA’s Gwen Berry Says She Will Stage Protest If She Medals At Olympics: ‘I’ll Represent The Oppressed People’</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anthem-snubbing-gwen-berry-sponsored-by-puma-defund-the-police-advocates">Anthem-Snubbing Gwen Berry Sponsored By Puma, Defund The Police Advocates</a>  
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gwen-berry-makes-false-claims-about-the-national-anthem-while-complaining-its-disrespectful">GOP Lawmakers, Veterans Call For Gwen Berry To Lose Olympic Spot Over Anthem Protest</a>

2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials – Day 9

Anthem-Snubbing Gwen Berry Fails To Medal At Olympics, Unable To ‘Represent The Oppressed’ At Podium

Gwen Berry

Olympics

Tokyo Olympics

Team USA&#8217;s Gwen Berry, who made headlines after she turned her back on the American flag during a medal ceremony at the U.S. Olympic Trials, says she plans to stage a similar protest if she medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Berry made it through qualifying rounds for the hammer throw over the weekend in the event&#8217;s Group B preliminaries, earning her the ability to compete in the women&#8217;s medal round on Tuesday.
Although Berry is not expected to make it to the medal podium &#8212; she would have to defeat not only her American teammate, Brooke Anderson, but world-leading hammer throwers from China and Poland &#8212; she said, in a post-qualifier interview Saturday, that she intends to make a political statement if she does.
&#8220;I feel like I&#8217;ve earned the right to wear this uniform,&#8221; Berry said first, addressing critics who claimed she should be replaced by a more patriotic athlete, or that she could forgo her position on Team USA if competing under the American flag was a problem. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-lawmakers-veterans-call-for-gwen-berry-to-lose-olympic-spot-over-anthem-protest">The Daily Wire previously reported</a>, some lawmakers had floated the idea of booting Berry from the team if she continued to denigrate the United States.
&#8220;I&#8217;ll represent the oppressed people,&#8221; Berry added. &#8220;That&#8217;s been my message for the last three years.&#8221;
Berry first protested the American national anthem in international competition when she won a medal at the Pan American Games two years ago. Then, she also turned her back on the flag during her medal ceremony, earning her a fine from the Games themselves, which prohibit political demonstrations.
Berry made headlines more recently, though, after turning her back on the national anthem during the U.S. Olympic Trials after taking the bronze medal. Berry, draped in an &#8220;activist athlete&#8221; tee-shirt, looked directly at the press during the protest, rather than turn toward the stars and stripes alongside her fellow athletes.
Later, Berry <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-feel-like-it-was-setup-hammer-thrower-turns-away-from-american-flag-during-national-anthem">later claimed that she believed the anthem incident</a> was a &#8220;set-up&#8221; &#8212; an allegation that USA Track and Field vehemently denied to The Associated Press.
“I feel like it was setup,” Berry <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/26/gwen-berry-protest-olympic-trials/">said</a> with a burst of laughter. “I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest. 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 all right. I see what’s up.”
“The national anthem was scheduled to play at 5:20 p.m. today,” USA Track and Field spokesman Susan Hazzard <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-olympic-games-sports-2e9911837edab52ac4ddd8a5d02a714e?utm_medium=AP_Sports&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">said</a>. “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.”
Berry told the media that the negative attention from before the Games is not affecting her performance in Tokyo.
&#8220;I’m just focused on what I need to do,&#8221; Berry told reporters. &#8220;Because all those people who hate me, they aren’t here. So they can’t affect me.&#8221;
The International Olympic Committee has loosened restrictions on athlete protests for the Tokyo Games, watering down its infamous Rule 50, barring political demonstrations from the Olympic Games themselves. The IOC does still prohibit medal stand protests, however.

Team USA’s Gwen Berry Says She Will Stage Protest If She Medals At Olympics: ‘I’ll Represent The Oppressed People’

Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” recently went on a tirade against Texas Congressman and former Navy Seal Dan Crenshaw over his criticism of Olympic hammer thrower, Gwen Berry.
Berry had made a public show of turning her back on the flag and donning a T-shirt that said “activist athlete” as she was awarded a bronze medal. As the Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-lawmakers-veterans-call-for-gwen-berry-to-lose-olympic-spot-over-anthem-protest">reported</a>, Crenshaw has argued that if Berry is unwilling to proudly represent the United States, she should be cut from the team.
“We don’t need any more ‘activist athletes.’ She should be removed from the team. You know, the entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America. That’s the entire point, okay?” Crenshaw said on Fox and Friends on June 28. “It’s one thing when these NBA players do it. OK, fine, we’ll just stop watching. But now, the Olympic team – and it’s multiple cases of this. They should be removed. That should be the bare minimum requirement, is that you believe in the country you’re representing.”
The following Wednesday, the lawmaker reiterated his take on the <a href="https://hughhewitt.com/congressman-dan-crenshaw-r-tx-on-gwen-berry-controversy/">Hugh Hewitt</a> show, saying, &#8220;If you&#8217;re going to represent the Team USA, you should, well, you should like the USA, and that the mere notion of supporting the United States shouldn&#8217;t offend you, if you&#8217;re going to be on Team USA after all.”
This didn’t sit well with Bautista. The 52-year-old actor <a href="https://twitter.com/PamKeithFL/status/1410232070572580864?s=20">retweeted</a> a thread from former Florida congressional candidate, Pam Keith, who said, “The FIRST thing that REAL PATRIOTS (not people who actually worship white supremacy more than the freedoms we fight for) know, is that contrived or forced demonstrations of reverence aren’t worth a hill of beans. If someone isn’t feeling a swell of pride or emotion when the anthem is played, so be it. They likely have very good reasons for the way they feel.”
Bautista added his own <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveBautista/status/1410300147758731265?s=20">message</a> to Crenshaw: “I really respect your service but otherwise you’re just a huge f***ing tw**.”
Bautista, who is also set to star in the upcoming Warner Bros. release, “Dune,” has a long history of being politically outspoken. In January, he and Guardians director James Gunn <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-gunn-dave-bautista-accuse-ted-cruz-of-treason">accused</a> Texas Senator Ted Cruz of treason. And in May 2020, he made a sarcastic Nazi reference, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/guardians-of-the-galaxy-star-dave-bautista-heil-trump">tweeting</a> “Heil Trump.”
Disney, Marvel’s parent company, has never publicly addressed Bautista’s online political speech, including likening former President Trump to Hitler, and there has never been any indication that the former pro-wrestler has been disciplined for the Nazi reference.
This stands in marked contrast to the Mouse House’s decision to fire former “Mandalorian” actress Gina Carano for sharing an Instagram post that compared the divisiveness America is experiencing today to the cultural climate that preceded the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. In that case, a Disney spokesperson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-cancels-gina-carano-over-tweets-while-ignoring-far-worse-from-others">called</a> Carano’s post, “abhorrent and unacceptable” and claimed it “[denigrated] people based on their cultural and religious identities.”

UFC 246: McGregor v Cowboy

Marvel Actor Dave Bautista Calls Congressman Dan Crenshaw Obscene Name Over Gwen Berry Criticism

Dan Crenshaw

Marvel

Athletes will be give a little more leeway to express their personal political and social justice views during the Tokyo Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) slightly loosened its rules regarding political expression.
USA Today <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/07/02/olympic-athletes-get-more-leeway-express-political-social-views/7840844002/">reported</a> that the IOC issued the new guidance on Friday, just three weeks before the Tokyo Games begin. The changes affect Rule 50, which is used to ban athletes from protesting or making political displays during the Olympics.
“Under <a href="https://olympics.com/athlete365/app/uploads/2021/07/Rule-50.2-Guidelines-Olympic-Games-Tokyo-2020-Final.pdf">the new guidance</a>, athletes will be able to express their views on the field of play before competition so long is it is not targeted against people, not disruptive and not otherwise prohibited by national Olympic committees or international federations,” USA Today reported. “Expressions during competition, in the Olympic village and during ceremonies — including medal, opening and closing ceremonies — remain prohibited under a longstanding rule in the Olympic charter baring ‘political, religious or racial propaganda.’&#8221;
As the outlet noted, athletes “have been pushing the IOC for greater leeway to express their views, specifically on issues of social and racial justice.”
The move comes after the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) put Gwen Berry, a hammer thrower who came in a distant third place during last week’s trials to compete in the Olympics, on probation following her act of defiance during the medal ceremony. As The Daily Wire’s Joe Morgan previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-feel-like-it-was-setup-hammer-thrower-turns-away-from-american-flag-during-national-anthem">reported</a>, as “the National Anthem began to play with the winners standing on the podium, Berry turned away from the flag so that she was facing the stands.”
“Toward the end of the anthem, she pulled up a black t-shirt with the words “Activist Athlete” on the front to cover her head,” Morgan added.
Following the display, Berry claimed she thought playing the anthem while she was on the podium felt “like it was a setup.”
“I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest. 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 all right. I see what’s up,” she said.
The anthem was scheduled to be played at the same time each night of the trials that took place last weekend, though it was delayed a few minutes on Saturday, when Berry was receiving her medal.
“The national anthem was scheduled to play at 5:20 p.m. today,” USA Track and Field spokesman Susan Hazzard <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-olympic-games-sports-2e9911837edab52ac4ddd8a5d02a714e?utm_medium=AP_Sports&amp;utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">said</a>, according to the Associated Press. “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.”
The snub made Berry the center of attention even though first-place winner DeAnna Price, who broke the American record and meet records for her throw, which was just under seven feet longer than Berry’s throw.
Berry was further criticized after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/photo-of-gwen-berry-draped-in-american-flag-on-gwen-throws-site-goes-viral-site-gets-deleted-totally-not-all-an-act">an image</a> of her posted to her website showed her draped in the American flag, a symbol she now claims makes her uncomfortable.
The new IOC guidelines follow guidelines from the USOPC earlier this year that allowed Olympic athletes to engage in protest, The Daily Wire’s Emily Zanotti <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/us-olympic-committee-releases-protest-guidelines-clears-athletes-to-raise-fists-kneel-during-national-anthem">reported</a>.
“The USOPC released a nine-page document Tuesday to offer guidance about the sort of ‘facial and social demonstrations’ that will and won’t be allowed by the hundreds who will compete in coming months for spots on the U.S. team,” ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/raised-fists-kneeling-anthem-us-olympic-trials-76770104">reported</a>. “The document comes three months after the federation, heeding calls from its athletes, determined it would not enforce longstanding rules that ban protests at the Olympics.”

Tokyo Olympics 2020 – Kitting Out – Birmingham NEC

Olympics Committee Loosening Rules On Athletes’ Ability To Express Political, Social Justice Views

Last weekend, U.S. hammer thrower Gwen Berry became a household name after turning away from the American flag as the National Anthem played during an Olympic trials event. After being celebrated as a hero by the Left, however, Berry’s problematic social media history has suddenly been brought to light.
Berry, who has argued that the National Anthem is racist, appears to have posted <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9751521/Olympian-Gwen-Berrys-tweets-decade-ago-reveal-history-rape-jokes-tweets-mocking-white-people.html">tweets</a> hurling racist abuse at Mexican people, Chinese people, and white people. She also made jokes about rape, claimed that she would “stomp on a child,” and repeatedly used the word, “retarded.”
These tweets include:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“I’m about to rape my lunch.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“[Shout out] to all the females that’s gon get drunk, get recked by 4 dudes, then cry rape this weekend.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“‘@IThrow: Mexicans just don’t care about ppl’ [laughing emojis].”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“Just saw this gurl wearing heels with white socks!! What the Hell…[Chinese people] always try to start new trends&#8230;smh&#8230;ggguuurrrllll.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“This lil white boy being bad as hell!! I would smack his ass then stomp him!! Smh #whitepplKids hella disrespectful.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“White people are sooo retarded when they are drunk.” </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“These white chicken freakin themselves right out in this DQ line hahahahahah.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“Ewwwqw RT @BigHomieAMess: Julie from [BGC] gotta nice ass body for a white girl.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“In class..and mugs calling ppl out!! Hhahaha white people crazy..#ratchet.”</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">“[Basketball Wives] is proof that white ppl run they got damn mouths too much n they nosey as hell n they start drama btw crazy blk b*****.”</li>
</ul>
Some of these tweets were posted before Berry made the U.S. Olympic team in 2016 and 2021, or Team USA in the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival.
Now, by the fluid rules of &#8220;cancel culture,&#8221; Gwen Berry&#8217;s sudden status in society should plummet. She mocked rape victims, hurled racist abuse at a slew of identity groups, and used the R-word.
Like so many &#8220;problematic&#8221; members of the intersectional Left, however, whether or not to &#8220;cancel&#8221; is a matter of simple arithmetic. In this case, the hammer thrower has two factors playing in her favor.
First, Berry is an Olympic athlete who is happy to leverage her representation of the country for the &#8220;good&#8221; of the &#8220;movement.&#8221; Second, Berry is a member of &#8220;important&#8221; identity groups, making her valuable as a figure of authority for the Left.
Therefore, these tweets will likely not even be mentioned by any legacy media outlet in the coming days, because Gwen Berry — for now — is just too useful to hold accountable.
This logic applies to other &#8220;problematic&#8221; figures on the Left. For example, in a sensible society, Ilhan Omar&#8217;s demonstrated history of making anti-Semitic comments, or Rashida Tlaib&#8217;s propensity to promulgate blood libel propaganda would be immediately disqualifying for representatives in Congress.
But, as members of various intersectional groups the Left aims to leverage to build their coalition of victimhood, their identity serves too great a purpose to justify setting any standards whatsoever.
Luckily for Gwen Berry, she&#8217;s still useful. For now.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at<a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth"> @ighaworth</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

OPINION: Gwen Berry’s History Of Racist Tweets And Rape Jokes Won’t Change Her Hero Status

Racism

In an episode of “The View” on Tuesday, co-host Meghan McCain went after athlete Gwen Berry who notably turned away from the American flag during the national anthem in protest at the recent U.S. Olympic track and field trials. 
“Berry placed third in the hammer throw on Saturday, qualifying her for the Tokyo Olympics. As the National Anthem began to play with the winners standing on the podium, Berry turned away from the flag so that she was facing the stands. Toward the end of the anthem, she pulled up a black T-shirt with the words ‘Activist Athlete’ on the front to cover her head,” as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-feel-like-it-was-setup-hammer-thrower-turns-away-from-american-flag-during-national-anthem">reported</a>.
Some of the co-hosts on the show went after Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) for his remarks against Berry, to which McCain initially responded.
“I just want to first and foremost say that Dan Crenshaw is an American hero. He’s a Navy SEAL that got his eye blown out, among other things, and was on Navy SEAL teams that killed terrorists and did incredible things defending our nation,&#8221; McCain said, per <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/meghan-mccain-flames-gwen-berry-flag-protest">Fox News</a>.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/MeghanMcCain?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MeghanMcCain</a> went off on Gwen Berry after the athlete turned away from the flag as the national anthem played, with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheView?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheView</a> host saying she &quot;will die on this hill that it is not appropriate or patriotic.&quot;
&quot;It&#39;s not about you, it&#39;s about all of us.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/cKFbnlcYvs">pic.twitter.com/cKFbnlcYvs</a>
&mdash; Mediaite (@Mediaite) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mediaite/status/1409895403525447681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The problem I have is this woman is doing this internationally. And if anyone just saw Vladimir Putin’s recent speech when he met with President Biden, he’s using the propaganda that America is an irredeemable craphole against us, saying, ‘You think your country is so great over there? … You don’t even treat your people correctly.&#8217; At the same time where he’s literally imprisoning people,&#8221; McCain added. &#8220;And we’re having our enemies and propagandic [sic] dictators using our own propaganda against us, which, in turn, turns into a real national security risk.”
&#8220;My other problem with this is I don’t understand why we all can’t have shared experiences in this space, or have our own stories, because for some reason my relationship with the flag isn’t allowed anymore. My love of the American flag, my love of the National Anthem,&#8221; she said.
McCain told a story of her father, John McCain, noting that it is “triggering” for some folks when she brings up the late senator. She said that while her father was imprisoned, one of his fellow inmates had sewn an American flag into his prison clothing so that he and the other inmates could say the Pledge of Allegiance each day.
&#8220;One day the Vietnamese captors found that and beat the living crap out of [the man], Mike Christian, to the point that his eyes and his body was so badly injured that he could barely move. And the second that he was able to move again — do you want to know the first thing Mike Christian started doing?&#8221; McCain said. &#8220;He started resewing the American flag into his prison garb so his cell mates could say the Pledge of Allegiance and remember what they were doing and what they were fighting for in prison for America.” 
&#8220;So excuse me if I don&#8217;t think some of these athletes are representing America in the same way,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I will die on this hill that it is not appropriate or patriotic to go to a foreign country where you&#8217;re supposed to be representing America, and act like it&#8217;s just about you. It’s not about you, it’s about all of us.”
Berry has been criticized by many conservatives for turning away from the American flag during the national anthem, stating that it was a “set up” since she said that she was informed the anthem would play before she was on the podium to get her medal, per <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-white-house-backs-berry-president-respects-olympic-hammer-throwers-right-to-protest-anthem-psaki-says">The Daily Wire.</a>
“I feel like it was setup,” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/26/gwen-berry-protest-olympic-trials/">Berry told The Washington Post</a>. “I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest. 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 all right. I see what’s up.”
The White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-white-house-backs-berry-president-respects-olympic-hammer-throwers-right-to-protest-anthem-psaki-says">supported</a> Berry’s right to protest the flag this week, as others made the argument that if someone is representing America on the world stage, it is inappropriate to protest the American flag.
On Thursday, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/meghan-mccain-to-quit-the-view-report">reported</a> that McCain is expected to leave &#8220;The View&#8221; at the end of July. &#8220;The Daily Mail reported she will announce her exit on Thursday and depart the program at the end of July with two years remaining on her contract,&#8221; the outlet noted.

80A3A8B1-8473-485B-A704-6FA1D819EE29_1_201_a

WATCH: Meghan McCain To Gwen Berry: ‘It’s Not About You!’

Meghan McCain

A viral photo of anthem-snubbing hammer thrower Gwen Berry draped in an American flag has been scrubbed from its sourced site after the image went viral online.
Conservative author and host Tim Young on Wednesday posted an image of Berry draped in the American flag, which he snapped from a WordPress site called &#8220;Gwen Throws.&#8221; The photo appears to have been <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9744201/Picture-Gwen-Berry-holding-Stars-Stripes-website-goes-viral.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline">posted</a> to the site in 2015.
&#8220;Gwen Berry&#8217;s PR team forgot to update her website&#8230;&#8221; Young snarked, captioning the photo.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Gwen Berry&#39;s PR team forgot to update her website&#8230;<a href="https://t.co/qcGJc5qxMd">https://t.co/qcGJc5qxMd</a> <a href="https://t.co/3xcbHBK7Ni">pic.twitter.com/3xcbHBK7Ni</a>
&mdash; Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimRunsHisMouth/status/1410226088945594375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The tweet quickly went viral, sparking online reactions from conservative politicos, including eldest Trump son Donald Trump Jr., who suggested Berry&#8217;s recent anti-American activism is an act for &#8220;attention.&#8221;
&#8220;Totally not all an act!&#8221; Trump Jr. posted. &#8220;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.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
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. <a href="https://t.co/OSjnPDCKTe">https://t.co/OSjnPDCKTe</a>
&mdash; Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1410346419697954832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
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By the next morning, the website that hosted the image was <a href="https://gwenthrows.wordpress.com/2015/06/12/19/">deleted</a>.
&#8220;Gwenthrows.word.press.com is no longer available,&#8221; the site not reads. &#8220;The authors deleted this site.&#8221;
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-241381 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-8.59.52-AM-1024x520.png" alt="" width="1024" height="520" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-8.59.52-AM-1024x520.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-8.59.52-AM-300x152.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-8.59.52-AM-768x390.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-8.59.52-AM-1536x780.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-01-at-8.59.52-AM-2048x1040.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-lawmakers-veterans-call-for-gwen-berry-to-lose-olympic-spot-over-anthem-protest">The Daily Wire</a>, Berry qualified to represent the United States at the Olympics on Saturday, placing third in the hammer throw trials. While on stage receiving her medal, Berry turned her back to the flag and held up a T-shirt that read “Activist Athlete” when the anthem started playing,
The shun quickly made Berry a household name.
Notably, Berry is sponsored by athletic brand Puma, a relationship she secured through a pro-“Defund the Police” group called Color of Change, which has sponsored Berry since last September, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anthem-snubbing-gwen-berry-sponsored-by-puma-defund-the-police-advocates">The Daily Wire</a> highlighted Wednesday:
“We’re proud to sponsor [Berry], to have negotiated a sponsorship with [Puma] and to continue to push corporations to support Black athletes who speak out for our communities. Grateful for Gwen’s leadership today and every day,” Color of Change posted to Twitter. “Thank you Color of Change for always standing with me,” Berry responded.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anthem-snubbing-gwen-berry-sponsored-by-puma-defund-the-police-advocates">Anthem-Snubbing Gwen Berry Sponsored By Puma, Defund The Police Advocates</a>  
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/gwen-berry-sponsor-defund-police">noted</a> that Color of Change “is unapologetically in favor of defunding the police”:
<blockquote>“Policing is a violent institution that must end. We imagine a country where there is enough money to educate our children, care for our sick and feed those who are financially unstable. Defunding the police allows for this vision,” Color of Change President Rashad Robinson <a href="https://colorofchange.org/press_release/statement-from-color-of-change-minneapolis-commitment-to-disband-police-a-historic-moment-for-our-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> in June after the Minneapolis City Council <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/minneapolis-city-council-vows-to-dismantle-police-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pledged</a> to “dismantle” its police force.
The left-wing group also has <a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/defund_nypd?source=coc_main_website" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">active</a> <a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/tell-congress-defund-police/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">petitions</a> in favor of defunding the police at both the local and national levels.</blockquote>
Days before her showing at the trials, Berry <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anthem-snubbing-gwen-berry-sponsored-by-puma-defund-the-police-advocates">told</a> The Washington Post that representing America has been an issue for her, since the country allegedly works to disenfranchise black Americans.
“For me, it’s always been something that’s been underlyingly uncomfortable, knowing that I’m rocking this big ‘USA’ across my chest when everything about America is to demean and to keep Black people at the bottom of the totem pole,” she said. “It has always, always, always been something I have been very uncomfortable with. I’m glad I’m able to say that without being punished or without being misunderstood.
“I try to compartmentalize it. I try to say, ‘The USA can mean a lot of things.’ I try to give it my own meaning, just to say that I do deserve to represent a country that my people have built uncompensated, have worked for and have survived throughout,” Berry continued. “I just have to give myself a different meaning of it, regardless of how uncomfortable I am with what it is sometimes.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gwen-berry-makes-false-claims-about-the-national-anthem-while-complaining-its-disrespectful">GOP Lawmakers, Veterans Call For Gwen Berry To Lose Olympic Spot Over Anthem Protest</a>

Photo Of Gwen Berry Draped In American Flag On ‘Gwen Throws’ Site Goes Viral, Site Gets Deleted: ‘Totally Not All An Act!’

Sports

U.S. Olympian Gwen Berry felt that the playing of the National Anthem at the Olympic track and field trials on Saturday was “disrespectful” to her. 
Multiple GOP lawmakers and military veterans have since called for her to be removed from the Olympic team, citing that the sole purpose of an Olympic athlete is to represent their country under the flag. 
“I don’t think it’s too much, when athletes are competing to wear the Stars and Stripes — to compete under the Stars and Stripes in the Olympics — for them to simply honor that flag and our anthem on the medal stand,” Sen. Tom Cotton <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/28/tom-cotton-wants-gwen-berry-off-us-team-over-anthem-protest/">said</a> on Fox News on Monday. “If Ms. Berry is so embarrassed by America, then there’s no reason she needs to compete for our country. She should be removed from the Olympic team.”
Former NFL player Jack Brewer has been an outspoken critic of players protesting the anthem, and made his opinion clear in a conversation with The Daily Wire. 
“I just think about growing up as a kid and literally just in school, when you hear the National Anthem, the feeling that it gives you and the respect that you have,” Brewer said when asked about Berry’s move to turn her back to the flag. “The flag is not supposed to represent perfection, but the flag is the family — the American family —  the country that we share. Everyone is trying to work for the same goal. That&#8217;s what your country represents. That&#8217;s like walking into your house and slapping your mom. It makes no sense. I don&#8217;t understand it.”
“And now, we have a culture that is literally professing to these kids and teaching these kids that their country is inherently bad &#8230; not to respect the national Anthem and the flag. That&#8217;s supposed to be the one thing that brings us together. It&#8217;s heartbreaking.” 
Athletes have been protesting the anthem since NFL player Colin Kaepernick first began kneeling in 2016, but Berry’s position is different. The sole purpose of an Olympic athlete is to represent his or her country, it’s not for fame or fortune as it is for professional athletes. It’s what makes Berry’s move so offensive to so many. 
&#8220;If I was a coach or if I was a part of the U.S. Olympic committee, the first criteria that you should have for anybody that wants to go compete for the country is that you embrace and love your country. How do you have someone compete at the highest level and how do you have them give everything that they have in their heart … and trust that they&#8217;re going to go there with the best intention, if the very country that they&#8217;re going to represent &#8230; they turn their back on.  That should be the number one criteria before anyone gets or makes this Olympic team.”
“Our freedom is not free. The American people deserve to be represented by people who love them and people who stand for unity and all the good things that this country is about.” 
Berry’s move to protest the flag and anthem may be just the beginning of Olympic athletes protesting the flag on the international stage. Brewer believes it will continue, but only if we allow it. 
“I think we will continue to see it if they appease it and allow it. You&#8217;ve got to stop it at its root. There&#8217;s no time to have this lukewarm perspective when it comes to these things. It&#8217;s time to take a hard stand in this nation, to hold people accountable. You don&#8217;t want to be here, you don&#8217;t want to represent America, that&#8217;s your choice. We have choice and free will in America.” 
“So, anybody that wants to represent our Olympic team should not be allowed to wear that red, white, and blue if they don&#8217;t love this nation. You can stop it by actually holding people accountable and not allowing you to take hostage of our American dream on the international scale, by giving someone the ability to hijack that moment for whatever their political belief is.”
Berry has indicated that she will not back down when she gets to Tokyo, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-feel-like-it-was-setup-hammer-thrower-turns-away-from-american-flag-during-national-anthem">saying</a> she’ll “figure out something to do&#8221; when she gets there. It’s a statement that perplexes Brewer. 
“If you just listen to the reasoning behind what they claim to be fighting for &#8230; You claim to be fighting against racism, but you&#8217;re literally standing against the one nation that has allowed more people to have equality and opportunity than in any place in the world! People are trying to leave by the millions to get to America. People that are really facing serious oppression and racism and all those other things.&#8221; 
“They&#8217;re coming here, yet we have athletes that don&#8217;t appreciate the very freedoms in which we have. It&#8217;s embarrassing.”
Lost in the backlash was the selfishness of the act, taking attention away from the two other Olympic hammer throwers who made the team. DeAnna Price earned gold in the event, setting an American record with a throw of 263 feet, 6 inches (80.31 meters). 
“You took all of the focus off of the record holder. You took her moment,” Brewer said. “How dare you?”
Joe Morgan is the sports reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.

KRT STAND ALONE PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE BRIDGES/KRT (December 1

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The American People Deserve To Be Represented By Someone Who Loves Them’: Former NFL Player Rips Olympian Gwen Berry

A foundation founded by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is supporting hammer thrower Gwen Berry after the athlete snubbed the U.S. flag and the national anthem during the Olympic trials Saturday.
&#8220;We applaud Ms. Berry on her bravery to stand up against systemic racism,&#8221; the Know Your Rights Camp <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/colin-kaepernick-camp-gwen-berry-national-anthem-demonstration">tweeted</a> Monday.
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-lawmakers-veterans-call-for-gwen-berry-to-lose-olympic-spot-over-anthem-protest">The Daily Wire</a>, Berry qualified to represent the United States at the Olympics on Saturday, placing third in the hammer throw trials. While on stage receiving her medal, Berry turned her back to the flag and held up a T-shirt that read “Activist Athlete” when the anthem started playing.
Citing a Newsweek post, the camp boosted Berry&#8217;s theory that she was &#8220;set-up&#8221; when the anthem played as she was on the podium for her third-place finish.
&#8220;Over the weekend during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, hammer thrower Gwen Berry turned away from the American flag at the medal podium while the &#8216;Star-Spangled Banner&#8217; was playing,&#8221; the group posted. &#8220;According to a meet representative, the anthem is scheduled to play at 5:20 pm but it played at 5:25 pm when the athletes were on the podium. &#8216;I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,&#8217; she said, according to the AP. &#8216;I was pissed, to be honest,&#8217; she added.&#8221;
The Twitter thread continued: &#8220;But Berry said: &#8216;They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there.&#8217; Berry draped a tee-shirt on her head that said &#8216;Activist Athlete&#8217;. &#8216;The anthem doesn&#8217;t speak for me. It never has,&#8217; she said. &#8216;I&#8217;m here to represent those &#8230; who died due to systemic racism,&#8217; she said. &#8216;That&#8217;s the important part. That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m going. That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m here today.'&#8221;
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&#8220;We applaud Ms. Berry on her bravery to stand up against systemic racism,&#8221; Know Your Rights Camp closed the thread.
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According to a meet representative, the anthem is scheduled to play at 5:20 pm but it played at 5:25 pm when the athletes were on the podium. &quot;I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,&quot; she said, according to the AP. &quot;I was pissed, to be honest,&quot; she added. <a href="https://t.co/XTV4rF0yNR">pic.twitter.com/XTV4rF0yNR</a>
&mdash; Know Your Rights Camp (@yourrightscamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/yourrightscamp/status/1409654638656114690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&quot;I&#39;m here to represent those &#8230; who died due to systemic racism,&quot; she said. &quot;That&#39;s the important part. That&#39;s why I&#39;m going. That&#39;s why I&#39;m here today.&quot; 
We applaud Ms. Berry on her bravery to stand up against systemic racism. 
Cited from <a href="https://t.co/p7Uo2l8iLR">https://t.co/p7Uo2l8iLR</a> <a href="https://t.co/WO45g7iZSJ">pic.twitter.com/WO45g7iZSJ</a>
&mdash; Know Your Rights Camp (@yourrightscamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/yourrightscamp/status/1409654650781925376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In 2016, then-San Francisco 49er Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem before games, claiming murderous systemic racism against blacks, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nfls-colin-kaepernick-i-refuse-stand-national-amanda-prestigiacomo">The Daily Wire</a> reported at the time:
<blockquote>The National Football League’s Colin Kaepernick has not stood for the playing of the national anthem at his past three preseason games because, according to him, America “oppresses black people and people of color” and there are dead “bodies in the street” who were “murdered” by cops. The quarterback also believes that “white supremacy” is the “standard” American practice.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” the quarterback <a href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/27/kaepernick-refuses-to-show-pride-in-a-country-that-oppresses-black-people/">told</a> Steve Wyche of NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
The 49ers QB continued: “This is not something that I am going to run by anybody,” he said. “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. . . . If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anthem-snubbing-gwen-berry-sponsored-by-puma-defund-the-police-advocates">Anthem-Snubbing Gwen Berry Sponsored By Puma, Defund The Police Advocates</a>

Lima 2019 Pan Am Games – Day 15

Colin Kaepernick Camp Boosts Anthem-Snubbing Gwen Berry 

Colin Kaepernick

Anthem-snubbing hammer thrower Gwen Berry is sponsored by athletic brand Puma, a relationship she secured through a pro-&#8220;Defund the Police&#8221; group called Color of Change, which has sponsored Berry since last September.
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-lawmakers-veterans-call-for-gwen-berry-to-lose-olympic-spot-over-anthem-protest">The Daily Wire</a>, Berry qualified to represent the United States at the Olympics on Saturday, placing third in the hammer throw trials. While on stage receiving her medal, Berry turned her back to the flag and held up a t-shirt that read “Activist Athlete&#8221; when the anthem started playing,
&#8220;We&#8217;re proud to sponsor [Berry], to have negotiated a sponsorship with [Puma] and to continue to push corporations to support Black athletes who speak out for our communities. Grateful for Gwen&#8217;s leadership today and every day,&#8221; Color of Change posted to Twitter. &#8220;Thank you Color of Change for always standing with me,&#8221; Berry responded.
Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/gwen-berry-sponsor-defund-police">noted</a> that Color of Change &#8220;is unapologetically in favor of defunding the police&#8221;:
<blockquote>&#8220;Policing is a violent institution that must end. We imagine a country where there is enough money to educate our children, care for our sick and feed those who are financially unstable. Defunding the police allows for this vision,&#8221; Color of Change President Rashad Robinson <a href="https://colorofchange.org/press_release/statement-from-color-of-change-minneapolis-commitment-to-disband-police-a-historic-moment-for-our-country/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> in June after the Minneapolis City Council <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/minneapolis-city-council-vows-to-dismantle-police-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pledged</a> to &#8220;dismantle&#8221; its police force.
The left-wing group also has <a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/defund_nypd?source=coc_main_website" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">active</a> <a href="https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/tell-congress-defund-police/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">petitions</a> in favor of defunding the police at both the local and national levels.</blockquote>
The sponsorship is somewhat unique, however, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/21/gwen-berry-puma-us-olympic-track-trials/">explained</a>: &#8220;Rather than paying Berry to endorse and promote its brand, Color of Change cajoled and pressured companies to support her so Berry could maintain a platform from which to advocate. The partnership proved pivotal &#8230; the apparel company Puma announced it signed Berry to a contract that will pay her $15,000, provide her equipment and apparel and place her in a campaign titled &#8216;She Moves Us.'&#8221;
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“We have the responsibility to support those calling for changes,” said Puma marketing executive Adam Petrick to the Post.
Days before her showing at the trials, Berry told the Post that representing America has been an issue for her, since the country allegedly works to disenfranchise black Americans.
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“For me, it’s always been something that’s been underlyingly uncomfortable, knowing that I’m rocking this big ‘USA’ across my chest when everything about America is to demean and to keep Black people at the bottom of the totem pole,” she said. “It has always, always, always been something I have been very uncomfortable with. I’m glad I’m able to say that without being punished or without being misunderstood.
“I try to compartmentalize it. I try to say, ‘The USA can mean a lot of things.’ I try to give it my own meaning, just to say that I do deserve to represent a country that my people have built uncompensated, have worked for and have survived throughout,&#8221; Berry continued. &#8220;I just have to give myself a different meaning of it, regardless of how uncomfortable I am with what it is sometimes.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gwen-berry-makes-false-claims-about-the-national-anthem-while-complaining-its-disrespectful">GOP Lawmakers, Veterans Call For Gwen Berry To Lose Olympic Spot Over Anthem Protest</a>

Anthem-Snubbing Gwen Berry Sponsored By Puma, Defund The Police Advocates  

Gwen Berry — a black track athlete who turned away from the American flag after coming in third place at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on Saturday — claimed that she did so because the national anthem, which was playing, is &#8220;disrespectful&#8221; to black Americans.
“If you know your history, you know the full song of the national anthem. The third paragraph speaks to slaves in America — our blood being slain … all over the floor,” Berry <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/29/olympian-gwen-berry-insists-national-anthem-is-disrespectful-to-black-americans/">claimed</a> during an interview this week. “It’s disrespectful, and it does not speak for black Americans.” 

However, Berry is wrong. The Star Spangled Banner does not say that and never has.
CNN ran an in-depth analysis on the Star Spangled Banner back in 2018 and gave an analysis of the key lines.
The third verse of the song, which is no longer part of the song, stated [emphasis is the portion Berry is making claims about]:
<blockquote>And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, 
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion 
A home and a Country should leave us no more? 
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. 
No refuge could save the hireling and slave 
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave 
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.</blockquote>
Alan Taylor, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian who specializes in the American colonial revolution and early republic, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/07/us/national-anthem-annotated/">told</a> CNN that the line &#8220;isn’t meant as pro-slavery language.&#8221; &#8220;It’s referring to the British-poisoned ground – their polluting presence on American soil,&#8221; Taylor said.
Last year, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/10/18/star-spangled-banner-racist-national-anthem/">published</a> an op-ed / analysis of the Star Spangled Banner and the &#8220;ugly reason&#8221; that it was not adopted as America&#8217;s national anthem for a century. The line that Berry claims was talking about about black people&#8217;s blood being slain all over the floor is not mentioned once in the piece because it does not support the narrative that the article is seeking to promote: that some parts of the original Star Spangled Banner were bad.
The Washington Post piece mentions the last four lines of the third verse as being the part of the song that was problematic.
Regarding those four lines, Mark Clague — associate professor of musicology and American culture at the University of Michigan and a co-founder of the Star Spangled Music Foundation — told CNN:
<blockquote>Hirelings were the professional British troops. Key’s mocking them for doing it for the money, along with their stealing and ransoming. They were like pirates. And I think “slaves” is a reference to the Colonial Marines, who were slaves held captive by the Americans that escaped and were offered the opportunity to fight on the British side to earn freedom. ‘Let me put it another way, it makes no sense’</blockquote>
In the early 20th Century, during WWI, all but the first verse was cut because of their anti-British sentiment  — as Britain was an ally of the U.S. President Herbert Hoover later made the song the national anthem in 1931.

Gwen Berry Makes False Claims About The National Anthem While Complaining It’s ‘Disrespectful’

National Anthem

Republicans Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Sen. Tom Cotton are calling on Team USA to cut hammer thrower Gwen Berry for protesting the flag and national anthem over the weekend.
Berry qualified to represent the United States at the Olympics on Saturday, placing third in the hammer throw at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. While she was on stage receiving her medal, the anthem began to play at a pre-set time. Berry turned her back to the flag and held up a t-shirt that read “Activist Athlete.”
“I don’t think it’s too much, when athletes are competing to wear the Stars and Stripes — to compete under the Stars and Stripes in the Olympics — for them to simply honor that flag and our anthem on the medal stand,” Cotton <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/28/tom-cotton-wants-gwen-berry-off-us-team-over-anthem-protest/">said</a> on Fox News on Monday. “If Ms. Berry is so embarrassed by America, then there’s no reason she needs to compete for our country. She should be removed from the Olympic team.”
Crenshaw made similar comments in an interview on Fox News
“We don’t need any more ‘activist athletes.’ She should be removed from the team. You know, the entire point of the Olympic team is to represent the United States of America. That’s the entire point, okay?” Crenshaw <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/tv/dan-crenshaw-calls-for-gwen-berry-to-be-removed-from-olympic-team-this-is-what-happens-when-you-teach-critical-race-theory/">said</a> Monday. “It’s one thing when these NBA players do it. OK, fine, we’ll just stop watching. But now, the Olympic team – and it’s multiple cases of this. They should be removed. That should be the bare minimum requirement, is that you believe in the country you’re representing.”
Both men served in the military, Crenshaw as a Navy SEAL and Cotton as a Ranger-qualified member of the Army.
The anthem is pre-scheduled to play each day at the trials. On Saturday, the anthem was scheduled for 5:20 p.m.
Berry said she felt like the anthem playing while she was on the podium receiving her bronze medal was a “setup.”
“I feel like it was setup,” Berry <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-feel-like-it-was-setup-hammer-thrower-turns-away-from-american-flag-during-national-anthem">said</a> after her protest. “I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest. 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 all right. I see what’s up.”
“It was funny because they said they were going to play it before we walked out,” she added. “It just happened they played it when we were out there. So, you know, it’s okay. I really don’t want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem don’t speak for me. It never has.”
Berry’s protest caused an uproar online. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gwen-berry-blasted-for-anthem-protest-try-this-s-in-an-actually-oppressive-country">The Daily Wire</a> reported:
<blockquote>Her stunt caused an uproar on social media with many questioning why Berry would want to represent a country she scorns. Others suggested that Berry be thrown off Team USA and not allowed to compete in the Olympics over the protest.
“Then don’t compete on behalf of the U.S. in competition. Fairly simple,” conservative radio host Dana Loesch said.
Ricochet editor Bethany Mandel tweeted: “I’d love to see someone from an actually oppressive country try this shit. Hell, I wouldn’t mind if they threw her off Team USA, but they’re gutless and will give her a participation trophy just to assuage their own baggage.
Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe asked, “Why do we have athletes representing America who don’t like America?”</blockquote>

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