Gwen Berry sparked controversy by turning away from the flag on the podium during the playing of the national anthem at the United States Olympic track and field trials on Saturday. Berry is claiming she was “set up.”
“I feel like it was set up. I feel like they did that on purpose, and I was pissed, to be honest,” said Berry of the anthem being played while she was on the podium.
“I was thinking about what should I do. Eventually, I just stayed there and just swayed. 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.”
Gwen Berry placed third in the hammer event, which qualified her for a spot on Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics. As the national anthem played while she was on the podium, she turned away from the flag to face the stands. She then put a T-shirt over her head that said “Activist Athlete.”
According to Reuters, USA Track and Field said the anthem was played each day at the trials according to a pre-arranged schedule. Berry claimed they were going to play it before they walked out, but instead it was played while they were on the podium, per ESPN.
Gwen Berry has predictably received a lot of hate for what happened. She took to Instagram on Sunday with a message:
View this post on Instagram
Gwen Berry also had a strong message on Twitter:
These comments really show that:
1.) people in American rally patriotism over basic morality
2.) Even after the murder of George Floyd and so many others; the commercials, statements, and phony sentiments regarding black lives were just a hoax
— Gwen Berry OLY (@MzBerryThrows) June 28, 2021
This isn't the first time Gwen Berry has received backlash for her activism. In 2019, she lost sponsorships for raising her fist in protest on the podium at the Pan American Games in Peru and also received a 12-month probation from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Editor's note: This story was updated to correct misspellings of Gwen Berry's last name. We regret the initial error and apologize.
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