‘Don’t send her to the Olympics’: Fury after US hammer thrower turns back on flag as anthem plays...

Showing disdain for a country that would send you to the Olympics: An example of ungratefulness.

“Hammer Thrower Gwen Berry booked a spot at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics by finishing third in Olympic trials on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon, sending the 31-year-old to her second successive Games. But that achievement was overshadowed by what happened on the podium after the competition.As the three athletes were collecting their medals, the Star-Spangled Banner struck up, prompting Berry to turn away from the US flag and eventually cover her head with a black T-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Activist Athlete’ on the front. ‘The anthem doesn't speak for me. It never has,’ she said.

Berry has been a long time antiAmerican activist during competition starting with raising a fist during the presentation ceremony after winning the Pan-Am Games in 2019. While some lauded her, there was considerable backlash and calls for Berry not to be sent to represent her nation this summer if she has such obvious issues with honoring its symbols.

‘What the actual crap is this? You don’t have respect for our anthem and/or flag? Fine. But you shouldn’t represent our nation,’ came one response on Twitter.”