US Olympic Athlete Boycotts Opening Ceremony Over ‘Racist’ Coin Toss — Instantly Regrets It

Davis

Breaking News  . . . [Shani] "Davis wasn’t happy that he wasn’t chosen to carry the flag during the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
"He apparently lost a coin toss with another athlete.

"But rather than accepting the perfectly fair toss, Davis then pulled out his race card, claiming the real reason he wasn’t chosen was because he’s black.

From Pop Culture:Team USA speedskater Shani Davis opted out of the 2018 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea after losing the coin toss for flag bearer.

A day earlier, Davis vented his frustration over a coin flip ruining his opportunity to carry the American flag during the Parade of Nations event. He took to Twitter to blast Team USA’s tie-breaker rule.

I am an American and when I won the 1000m in 2010 I became the first American to 2-peat in that event. @TeamUSA dishonorably tossed a coin to decide its 2018 flag bearer. No problem. I can wait until 2022. #BlackHistoryMonth2018 #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/dsmTtNkhJs

Hamlin

Well immediately after throwing his little tantrum, the backlash came pouring in and Davis quickly realized he made a big mistake.

After feeling the wrath of the nation, Davis made his tweets private in an attempt to diffuse his situation.

"Basically, Davis was doing his best Kaepernick impression. Something happened that Davis didn’t like so he packed up his toys and went home.

From ABC News:

Luge veteran and four-time Olympian Erin Hamlin led Team USA into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium as the flag bearer today, marking the start of her final Olympic Games amid some initial backlash.

Luge veteran and four-time Olympian Erin Hamlin led Team USA into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium as the flag bearer today, marking the start of her final Olympic Games amid some initial backlash.

Hamlin, the first U.S. athlete to win an Olympic medal in singles luge, will not let that controversy mar the once-in-a-lifetime honor, she told ABC.

“I had nothing to do with the process,” Hamlin said before the opening ceremony. “I actually didn’t know any of the details, so I’m really not even paying too much attention to it.

"It was pretty gross of Davis to try and make this about race. Sadly, that seems to be par for the course these days. We are all Americans and that’s really the message that the Olympics is all about. Our differences don’t matter when we are all wearing that uniform.  However, Davis was unable to control his temper and injected race into the situation. That’s really unfortunate. We are better than that."