Activist and Olympic hopeful Gwen Berry turned her back on the flag during an Olympic trail metal ceremony in Oregon, but feels the timing was intentional on the part of organizers. Berry, who won a bronze in a competition for the hammer throw, first turned towards the stands, away from the flag and then draped her t-shirt, which featured the words “Activist Athlete,” over her head in apparent protest.
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The athlete, who has in the past been very vocal about her activism, told the Associated Press that she felt “like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose.”
Anthems aren’t typically played to accompany medal ceremonies at the trials.
USA Track and Field spokeswoman Susan Hazzard told ESPN that “the national anthem was scheduled to play at 5:20 p.m. today. 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.”
However, that Saturday, the music started at 5:25 p.m.
“They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there,” Berry said to ESPN. “But I don’t really want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important. The anthem doesn’t speak for me. It never has.”
In the summer of 2019, Berry was sanctioned for raising her fist on the podium after winning the Pan-Am games. According to ESPEN, this ruling was instrumental in getting the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to commit to not punishing athletes who use their position to raise awareness for social causes by raising fists or kneeling.
Berry’s third place win in the trials guarantees her a place at the Olympics, however the International Olympic Committee has taken a much different tactic from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, saying instead that it will enforce its Rule 50, which bans demonstrations inside the lines.
It was this rule that caused sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos to be sent home from the Mexico City Games and stripped of their medals in 1968 for raising their fists in a now iconic protest of racial injustice in the US.
Berry’s has remained adamant about using her position to raise awareness about social injustices in the Black community regardless. She maintains that her ultimate goal is larger than just a trip to the Olympics.
