Representing
Next month, the delayed 2020 Olympic games will be held. These used to be a time to show pride in your country and its representatives.
I recall someone then known as Bruce Jenner winning gold in Montreal in 1976, waving an American flag as he took a victory lap after the decathlon. Four years later, the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, when the U.S. hockey team upset the Soviets.
But count me out this time. That’s because politics is taking over.
There have always been political points…nation vs. nation clearly, and the 1968 “black power” symbol shown by two Americans on the medal platform.
But it’s so much more cynical this time. Witness the third-place…note, third-place…hammer thrower at the U.S. qualifying event over the weekend. While numbers 1 and 2 proudly looked toward the flag as the national anthem played, number 3 turned away and acted disgusted by the whole thing.
She claimed she was taken aback by it all…because apparently she wasn’t aware that the national anthem is played at every sporting event including some t-ball games for kids these days.
Here’s the thing…as a member of the Olympic team, you are representing our country. You wear the letters “USA” on the uniform. There’s no constitutional right to be on the team, and if you want to be a member, then we should expect you act like you like the country you’re representing. At the very least, remain silent.
But to voluntarily take a spot on the team and use it as a platform for trashing the country that is supporting your training and your career…that’s beyond disrespectful.
Cynically, the person–whose name I won’t mention, she doesn’t deserve the notice–the person may well be looking to cash in on her political stand…so in the end, it may be about a very different color: green.
