White House appeared to defend Olympic athlete Gwen Berry’s decision to turn her back on the American flag.
During a Monday press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki spoke out about the incident that took place at the U.S. Olympic trials as she insisted Berry had the right to protest peacefully.
Hammer thrower Gwen Berry sparked outrage after turning her back on the Stars and Stripes as the national anthem was playing in the background.
Following the act of defiance, critics suggested the athlete should not be allowed to represent the U.S. in the Olympics if she isn’t proud of her country.
Berry, however, hit back at her critics saying she doesn’t “want to talk about the anthem because that’s not important.” As she told Associated Press, the anthem doesn’t and never has spoken for her.
Backing up the athlete was also White House’s Psaki who suggested Berry had the right to “peacefully protest.”
“This weekend, Gwen Barry, who hopes to represent the United States as an Olympian on the hammer throwing events, won a bronze medal at the trials, and then she turned her back on the flag while the anthem played,” Peter Doocy of Fox News told Psaki during the White House press briefing.
“Does President Biden think that is appropriate behavior for someone who hopes to represent Team USA?”
Responding, the press secretary said: “I haven’t spoken to the President specifically about this, but I know he’s incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the Anthem and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform all around the world.
“He would also say, of course, that part of that pride in our country means recognizing there are moments where we are — as a country, haven’t lived up to our highest ideals, and it means respecting the right of people, granted to them in the Constitution, to peacefully protest.”
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