U.S. Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry has been getting ripped non-stop for turning her back on the American flag as she accepted her bronze medal during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials on Saturday. Berry told the press she felt as though Saturday’s anthem was a “set up” and she was “pissed” about it.
“Eventually, I just stayed there and just swayed,” she said. “I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful. I know they did that on purpose, but it’ll be alright. I see what’s up.”
She has since doubled down on her controversial protest Monday — insisting the anthem is “disrespectful” 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, 31, said on Black News Channel
“It’s disrespectful, and it does not speak for black Americans.”
“It’s obvious,” she added. “There’s no question.”
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The two-time Olympic qualifying hammer thrower also reiterated earlier comments where she said she does not hate this country.
“I never said that I didn’t want to go to the Olympic games. I never said that I hated the country. I never said that,” Berry told the outlet.
“All I said was I respect my people enough to not stand or acknowledge something that disrespects them.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said Berry should be yanked off the United States’ roster.
“If Ms. Berry is so embarrassed by America, then there’s no reason she needs to compete for our country,” the Arkansas senator said Monday on Fox News. “She should be removed from the Olympic team.”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki came to Berry’s defense on the issue.
“I haven’t spoken to the president specifically about this, but I know he’s incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform all around the world,” she told reporters at her daily briefing.
“He would also say, of course, that part of that pride in our country means recognizing there are moments where we are — as a country, haven’t lived up to our highest ideals,” Psaki added.
“And it means respecting the rights of people granted to them in the Constitution to peacefully protest.”
