One of America’s greatest champions did not mince any words when speaking out with his opinion on President Donald Trump.
While speaking about equal pay for women in sports at a Monday news conference at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis blasted Trump as “racist” and “misogynistic.”
“The reality is that there’s a lot of prejudice, and a lot of prejudice is fear,” he said via USA Today. “We’re afraid to give the same opportunity because it gives us a leg up … the reality is that it’s no different than another athlete on another team. So, yes, I support that.”
“There are a lot of issues going on,” he said. “We have a racist president, who is prejudiced, and misogynistic, who doesn’t value anyone outside of himself. … But that doesn’t mean we can’t fight for what is right for people, and look at others where they may have missed an opportunity or may have been marginalized in their lifetime.”
As far his thoughts on equal pay in sports, Lewis had this to say:
“Particularly once they won the World Cup, [the players] wanted to make this fight for equal pay not only about them, not only about soccer, but about the entire system,” Time’s Up’s chief policy and strategy officer Jen Klein said in an interview with TheWrap. “Time’s Up really was founded on very much of the same spirit. We really felt that … the time was past, and that we refuse to wait any longer to end gender inequality and to ensure safe, fair, and dignified work for women of all kinds.”
Lewis is particularly concerned with the state of the country after the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
“These barbaric slaughters are an assault upon our communities, an attack upon our nation and a crime against all of humanity,” he said.
“In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America.”
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The 58-year-old brought home nine gold medals in four different Olympics from 1984-96. He won two gold medals in the 100 meters, one gold medal in the 200 meters, two gold medals in the 4x 100 relay and four gold medals in the long jump.
