There are hundreds of thousands of people who worked as hard as you did and wanted to be in the Olympics but didn’t make it, for whatever reason. I remember dreaming of the Olympics when I was a child. Unfortunately, the opportunities and my natural talent (or lack of both) didn’t make that happen. But, I always wondered what it would be like.
You made it. Congratulations. But…
Please remember, you have been chosen to represent the United States in a SPORT, not in political commentary, while you are at the Olympics. You have been given all kinds of swag, publicity, money, support, travel, housing, food etc. all bankrolled by the people of the United States either through donations, support of sport governing bodies, and yes, taxes that supported the arenas and areas you practiced in. And, indirectly, yes, taxes supported your opportunities.
I was once heavily involved in the sport of gymnastics as a coach, a judge and a national volunteer chairman. I saw how hard so many people worked to get teams to Olympic venues; people who had their Olympic dreams shattered and would never see the glory of competition in the Olympic arena.
But you do.
When you are done at the Olympics, whether you win or not, you will carry that honor with you for the rest of your life. It will always be attached to your name, and it will likely open doors for you that will be closed to others.
When you are finished competing on our dime and representing us, you can say what you want and be as political as you want. At that point, it becomes about YOU not us.
But, while you are wearing OUR flag, OUR colors, OUR uniform on the international stage, you need to remember the HONOR you have been given. You were NOT entitled to it but we allowed you to have it. So, when you speak about our country, how about if you HONOR us instead of disparaging us? Keep your personal opinions about anything other than your sport to yourself.
Some of you don’t seem to understand that. For example, here are freestyle skiers Hunter Hess and his fellow competitor Chris Lillis answering a question from a reporter:
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now I think,” Hess said. “It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t. If it aligns with my moral values I feel like I’m representing it – just because I wear the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
Lillis added: “I feel like as a country we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens, as well as anybody, with love and respect. I hope that when people look at athletes competing in the Olympics they realize that’s the America we’re trying to represent.”
My heart really bleeds for these two. But, I have a suggestion for them if they feel conflicted about representing our country in the Olympics.
Hand all your swag back in, check out of the Olympic Village, give back all the money you earned, and head back home, on your own dime. Then, when you get in the United States, you can criticize this country all you want. You may want to try out another country, like China or North Korea. They love athletes who criticize them abroad. No, really.
And then there is Amber Glenn, U.S. Figure Skater who spent her interview talking about how “oppressed” gays are.
This gay man has something to say about that in a great response:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18JhMPovpJ
And there is this young man:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14d7S5G3uW8
Ms. Glenn has decided to stay off social media for a while. That might be a good idea if you can’t celebrate the great honor, privilege, and kindness you have been given as an openly gay, bi-sexual athlete who makes a practice of skating around ice rinks with gay and trans flags instead of the flag that got you there. Whining is a really bad look. Oh, and by the way, politics DO affect everyone, Amber. That’s why people want events like the Olympics to be free of political statements and pontification.
All of these athletes, who I call “entitled posers” decided to use their position as a United States Olympians to demean our country, air out what they perceive as “dirty laundry” and slap every person in this country in the face, especially those who would trade places with you in a heartbeat just to experience being an Olympian.
They chose to forget that the United States, for all its flaws, is the great country that sent them to compete. They forgot the purpose of their participation, which is to represent us with pride not self-hatred.
And since they forgot that, many of us will forget to watch this bloated, over commercialized and now over politicized orgy of self-importance.
There are some athletes who expressed exactly the opposite of these three virtue signaling fools.
Here is Erin Jackson’s family celebrating her being named as the flag bearer for the team in Italy:
In this interview, at about 36 seconds, Erin talks about how honored she is to be the flag bearer for the United States. No political BS. No mentioning of hardship, difficulty, etc. Just joy. Pure joy, humility, and respect.
She’s an athlete I can get behind and support.
In the meantime, I won’t be rooting for the others anymore because you disrespected the US. In fact, I may root for their opponents.
It’s what happens when you get a great honor and then trash the people who gave it to you.
Don’t even talk to me about the “dick” writer from team Great Britain. Someone send him some Depends and a binky. The only people who write with pee in the snow are two-year-olds and drunks. Which is he?
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