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babylonsister

(171,079 posts) Thu Aug 22, 2019, 05:10 PM Aug 2019

Olympic fencer and hammer-thrower who kneeled, raised fist in protest put on probation

Olympic fencer and hammer-thrower who kneeled, raised fist in protest put on probation
Race Imboden, a fencer, took a knee and hammer-thrower Gwen Berry raised a fist during the national anthem at medal ceremonies in Peru this month.
Aug. 21, 2019, 1:47 PM EDT
By Janelle Griffith

Olympic fencer Race Imboden and hammer-thrower Gwen Berry were put on a 12-month probation on Wednesday for protesting on the medal stand this month at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Imboden took a knee and Berry raised a fist when the national anthem played during medal ceremony. They both "could face more serious sanctions for any additional breach of our code of conduct," according to letters sent to both athletes, a spokesperson for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee told NBC News.

Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland also said in the letters that future protests, such as at next summer's Olympics in Tokyo, would be met with stiffer punishments.

“It is also important for me to point out that, going forward, issuing a reprimand to other athletes in a similar instance is insufficient,” Hirshland wrote. She said that while she applauded the “decision to be an active citizen,” Olympians must “abide by the policies" agreed to "in order to ensure the Games succeed in their purpose for many years to come.”

snip//

In a series of tweets, Imboden cited "racism, gun control, the mistreatment of immigrants" and President Donald Trump as the reasons he protested.

He also said in an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Aug. 13 that he was interested in change, not self-promotion, adding that he was influenced by "Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith: black, LGBT, female and Muslim athletes who chose to take a stand."

“I spoke up, I hope, for the same reasons that athletes who’ve come before me did. I want my country to change," Imboden, who is white, wrote in the op-ed. "And I want people who look like me to start coming to terms with this reality: Even if we can’t fully identify with the challenges that minorities sometimes face, or haven’t experienced the kind of attacks that they’ve faced, we owe it to our country to use the privilege we have to fight for what is right."

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/olympic-athletes-who-kneeled-raised-fist-protest-put-probation-n1044826?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_blk&fbclid=IwAR3IOWC94zc1_cQlRlnWZ-NEE1zs8_7VGyIkw-ZYpen2FRAw_gHYiFv2rqg