After finishing third in the hammer throw at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Gwen Berry went to the podium to accept her medal when a funny thing happened - the Star Spangled Banner played. Apparently the anthem has been played at 5:20 p.m. each night of the trials, except it was played at around 5:25 p.m. Saturday. Feeling the timing was a set up, Berry did a quarter-turn facing away from the flag. An activist, Berry vows to use her Olympic experience to highlight supposed injustices that continue to occur in America. When the music ended, Berry revealed a shirt saying 'Activist Athlete', placed it over her head and walked away. As can be seen, the first and second place finishers proudly placed hands over chest and sang along.
Afterwards Berry told a reporter that she felt 'pissed' by the timing.
"I really don't want to talk about the anthem because it is not that important to me," she said. "The anthem don't speak for me, it never has." Berry is not the only athlete not shy about speaking out against America. Transgender BMX rider Chelsea Wolfe said she would actually burn the U.S. flag on the podium in a since deleted anti-social media post. Someone call Rick Monday. The Opening Ceremony in Tokyo should be epic. Where is President Emeritus Donald J. Trump's Twitter handle when we need it..