US Olympic star furious over flag bearer selection, hints at racism
The 2018 Winter Olympics are upon us, with the opening ceremony Friday.
Instead of Team USA athletes sharpening their mental faculties and getting focused on the task of hoarding as many gold medals as they can, the team has now become embroiled in a petty and pointless controversy.
The role of flag bearer during the opening ceremonies has always been a privilege and an honor for many Olympians.
It shouldn’t be a controversy, and yet that’s the exact position Team USA finds itself in.
Luge veteran Erin Hamlin was elected to be the flag bearer for Team USA this year.
It should be a fitting sendoff for Hamlin, who has noted that this will be her final Olympics.
Apparently, her selection as flag bearer didn’t sit well with fellow Olympian Shani Davis.
https://twitter.com/ShaniDavis/status/961534274586464256
Davis, a gold-medal-winning speedskater, immediately tweeted that the process in which Hamlin earned the right to be flag bearer was done “dishonorably” and even hinted that it had racist undertones.
Team USA “dishonorably tossed a coin to decide its 2018 flag bearer,” he tweeted. “No problem. I can wait until 2022. #BlackHistoryMonth2018.”
Just in case there was any confusion, Hamlin is white and Davis is black.
Davis didn’t mention anything about race until he chimed in with a hashtag reminding everyone that February is Black History Month.
It’s an immature and totally unnecessary remark just hours before Team USA is to present a united front in front of the world.
Perhaps predictably, Davis’ teammates also suggested that Team USA brass favored Hamlin.
“We feel strongly toward Shani and they felt strongly for Erin,” U.S. speedskater Joey Mantia told ESPN. “That’s just that.”
Perhaps the most asinine part of Davis’ outrage is that, from all indications, Hamlin’s selection came about as democratically as possible.
Hamlin and Davis were two of the eight finalists for the role of flag bearer. From there, one representative from each sport Team USA represents cast a vote. Hamlin and Davis received four votes apiece. The predetermined tiebreaker is a coin flip, something the U.S. Olympic Committee and the eight voters agreed to.
It’s not clear how a coin flip can be “dishonorably” done, as Davis suspected, but Hamlin won the coin toss and was chosen as the flag bearer.
The Olympics haven't even started and you have already lost with your bad attitude.
— Andrew Atwell (@stealthhealthcs) February 8, 2018
Perhaps the worst part of all of this is that it rains on Hamlin’s parade. She and some of her peers seemed genuinely excited about her selection.
“I think they’re going to be really glad that they made that decision,” the 31-year-old Hamlin said. “They’re really pumped. I’m sure my brothers will be. We’ve grown up watching the Olympics and we’re always like, `Who’s going to be carrying the flag?’ And to actually be that person is insane.”
“I was so happy for her,” Olympian Jayson Terdiman said. “It’s one of the coolest things. I tell you what, I can’t wait. I couldn’t wait before, but now I can’t wait even more. Not just does Erin get to hold that flag, but USA Luge gets to hold that flag. It’s so cool. It’s a great honor for our small sport.”
So, Hamlin won a previously agreed to tiebreaker of a fairly democratic process. Not once in her comments, her teammates’ comments or the U.S. Olympic Committee’s comments did anyone ever mention race or the color of skin.
I have been such a huge fan of yours over the years. But this is truly disappointing. Such a selfish, petty, and hurtful thing to post.
— Butch in Boston (@Butch617) February 8, 2018
But sure, it’s clearly racism, and exactly what Team USA needs as the Winter Olympics get underway.
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