One of the things we used to love about the Olympics was that it was generally politics-free. Sure, there's always rivalry among competing nations and a hefty dose of national pride, but there's nothing wrong with that (or at least, there didn't used to be anything wrong with that). Occasionally, politics would intrude -- tragically in 1972 in Munich, and then gloriously in 1980 in Lake Placid. But, for the most part, it just used to be about celebrating athletes and competition.
Sadly, those days seem to be long gone. Everything about the Olympics is politicized in the 21st century. And politicized in the worst way, with woke ideology intruding wherever there is an opening.
A couple of days ago, USA Swimming proudly announced the U.S. team that would be competing in Paris this summer.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2024 U.S. Olympic Team 🫡🇺🇸🦅#SwimTrials24 | @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/P4Gaaso2g9
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) June 24, 2024
That's great, right? An occasion to congratulate all of these outstanding athletes for making the team and wish them luck in France in a few weeks.
And that's what the majority of people did.
But not Georgetown Law professor Janel George. For George, this photo was an opportunity to sow racial division and strife in America. Take a look:
When people say that Jim Crow was so long ago, it’s important to remember the lasting effects of segregated spaces — like segregated swimming pools — and the continued impact across generations. This visual reflects that legacy. https://t.co/YqvEePbBJI
— Janel George (@JG4Justice) June 24, 2024
The legacy of Jim Crow? Seriously? What is your major malfunction?
Why is everything race with these people...
— Giovanni (@miabenetti) June 25, 2024
It's because they are broken. Utterly and irreparably broken. They have only one lens and all that lens sees is skin color and imagined oppression.
Never mind that team member Katie Ledecky, one of the most accomplished swimmers in U.S. history, comes from a Czech, Irish, and Jewish background and lost relatives in the Holocaust. Never mind that team member Michael Andrew's family is South African.
And, of course, never mind that several members of the team -- Shaine Casas, David Curtiss, and Simone Manuel -- are, in fact, black.
On that note, congratulations to Simone and Shaine https://t.co/W5nJjLl9ag pic.twitter.com/biGez3An3B
— Dora Dora Dora 🇭🇹 (@TinyPrincess_D) June 24, 2024
George must have missed them in the picture. In fairness, her own racism probably blinded her a bit.
Riley Gaines gave George the mockery she deserved.
Congratulations on having the dumbest tweet on X today
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 25, 2024
Now do basketball https://t.co/xvsvOGQtQd
Many on Twitter were quick to point out how George zeroed in on the swim team, but didn't address other teams that the United States is sending to the Games.
2024 US Olympic Basketball Team. pic.twitter.com/uo2qAQUxfa
— Mauricio Korbman (@MauricioKorbman) June 25, 2024
Track and field team. And they look great, and run fast and will represent the country well.
— Jason Scalese (@jason_scalese) June 25, 2024
Go USA! pic.twitter.com/uNH3u7gHyR
The point is not that some teams in some sports are mostly white, mostly black, or a mix of all races. The point is that these athletes are the BEST. Because the Olympics -- even if nowhere else is -- should be an absolute meritocracy.
It's not about race.
— Republican National Hispanic Assembly (@OfficialRNHA) June 25, 2024
It's about America. #TeamUSA #Olympics https://t.co/U6SNEIZD6S pic.twitter.com/HvdtPyaF1a
God forbid people like George would actually cheer for America. We can almost be certain she never has in her life.
Holly Briden, one of our favorite satirical accounts, put George in her place as only Holly can:
Black people should be allowed to swim.
— 🫃🏼💉🇺🇦Hollaria Briden, Esq. (@HollyBriden) June 25, 2024
LOL.
If that were true why aren’t any African nations swimming powerhouses? You whinny constant victims are disgusting https://t.co/Irpzo6QSrY
— Ramrod (@ramrod2015) June 25, 2024
We try to avoid generalizations, but it's not breaking any new ground to say that different sports attract people from different backgrounds. That's why most water sports (and hockey) include predominantly white athletes. But they do not discriminate against other races. Meanwhile, track and basketball include predominantly black athletes. But they also do not discriminate against other races.
Swimming is just not a major sport black people get into. This has nothing to do with segregated pools. Which has been desegregated since 1964. In contrast the Olympic Mens Basketball team has been overwhelmingly black since the 1970’s. So is that a product of racism too? https://t.co/4fPT89HnG3
— *Jihad is the name. Slingshot Engaged (@JimboJumbo27) June 25, 2024
The answer that George will never acknowledge is that neither one is the product of racism. They're much more the product of preference.
Imagine looking at a photo of a group of athletes that trained insanely hard and qualified for the OLYMPICS and thinking “how can I use this to complain about racism?”
— Samaritan Prime (@SamaritanPrime) June 24, 2024
Frankly, it is insulting to the athletes to try to reduce them to their skin color.
This is such embarrassingly bad take you should probably delete this post.
— Devisissy 🇺🇸 🏳️🌈 (@realdevisissy) June 25, 2024
She hasn't deleted it (yet), but she did turn off replies.
Canada didn’t have Jim Crow. How many black swimmers do they have?
— 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠 (@HarmfulOpinion) June 25, 2024
You do know that every single statistical disparity isn’t a result of racism, right?
We're not sure if she doesn't know (which is quite a commentary on the quality of faculty at Georgetown) or if she does know and is just lying (which is an even worse commentary on that university).
IDK why she’s even upset. 2 blacks out of all those individuals is likely more than representative of blacks in water sports. Why incorporate DEI for a global competition where merit is much more paramount? https://t.co/CLUZW4Rak5
— Shaughn_A (@Shaughn_A2) June 25, 2024
She's upset because she has crafted her entire personality and existence around being perpetually upset.
— ᗷOOᗰEᖇ ᑕᗩᖇOᒪYᑎ (@thurmanlady1) June 25, 2024
BOOM. Exactly.
We were going to keep going with more people mocking Professor George's racist tweet, but in the spirit of the Olympics, we thought we'd end with a few people reacting to the USA Swimming photo the way everyone SHOULD react to it: with goodwill and pride.
Phenomenal group #TeamUSA #Swim24 #Indy #AmericasSportsCapital https://t.co/RXYuwguSaX
— Edward Holloran III (@Edward_Holloran) June 24, 2024
Make us proud!#USA https://t.co/d5RItRPJlF
— Dawn Buckingham (@DrBuckinghamTX) June 25, 2024
Amazing trials. Amazing swims. USA! https://t.co/MIEVvHMWGI
— phil beisel (@pbeisel) June 25, 2024
Can’t wait to watch you all in Paris! What a great group of athletes!
— Bailey (@Bailey05905889) June 24, 2024
Wishing you great success in Paris. Love the Olympics. Can’t wait.
— LJ (@caj21) June 24, 2024
And that's how it's done, people. Take notes, Georgetown University law professor.
If everyone took this attitude and rejected the ideology of Janel George, we bet more people would still love the Olympics these days like we all used to.
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