U.S. athletes warned not to wave flag at Olympics
soca
By Simon Hart
LONDON SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Published May 16, 2004
NEW YORK -- American athletes have been warned not to wave the U.S.
flag during their medal celebrations at this summer's Olympic Games in
Athens, for fear of provoking crowd hostility and harming the
country's already-battered public image.
The spectacle of victorious athletes grabbing a national flag and
parading it around the stadium is a familiar part of international
sporting competition, but U.S. Olympic officials have ordered their
550-strong team to exercise restraint and avoid any jingoistic
behavior.
The plan is part of a charm offensive aimed at repairing the
country's international reputation after the deepening crisis in Iraq
and damaging revelations of the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by
U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.
"American athletes find themselves in extraordinary circumstances
in Athens in relation to the world as we know it right now," said Mike
Moran, a veteran former spokesman for the United States Olympic
Committee who has been retained as a consultant to advise athletes how
to behave.
"Regardless of whether there is anti-American sentiment in Athens
or not, the world watches Americans a lot now in terms of how they
behave and our culture. What I am trying to do with the athletes and
coaches is to suggest to them that they consider how the normal things
they do at an event, including the Olympics, might be viewed as
confrontational or insulting or cause embarrassment."
Four years ago at the Sydney Olympics, members of the victorious
American 400-meter relay team were widely condemned for strutting with
the U.S. flag after their gold medal presentation. American officials,
mindful of the country's precarious standing in world opinion, are
desperate to avoid any repeat.
"Unfortunately, using the flag as a prop or a piece of apparel or
indulging in boasting behavior is becoming part of our society in
sport because every night on TV we see our athletes -- professional,
college or otherwise -- taunting their opponents and going
face-to-face with each other," Mr. Moran said. "We are trying for 17
days to break that culture.
"What I am telling the athletes is, 'Don't run over and grab a
flag and take it round the track with you.' It's not business as usual
for American athletes. If a Kenyan or a Russian grabs their national
flag and runs round the track or holds it high over their heads, it
might not be viewed as confrontational. Where we are in the world
right now, an American athlete doing that might be viewed in another
manner."
Mr. Moran added that the behavior of British athletes could face
similar scrutiny in Athens, though the British Olympic Association
insists there are no plans to ban them from celebrating with the Union
flag.
"It's up to every athlete how he or she wishes to celebrate their
Olympic success, and there are no plans to issue any instructions," a
spokesman for the association said. "We are confident that every
athlete will celebrate in a responsible way."
The USOC's anxiety at overexuberant displays of jingoism is a far
cry from scenes at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where
the American flag became the defining symbol of the Games.
A different environment awaits the American team in Athens, where
officials are anxious to replace apple pie with humble pie.
Americans were booed at the World Athletics Championships in Paris
last year largely because of Jon Drummond's histrionic protest at his
disqualification from a heat of the 100 meters. Also, at an Olympic
soccer qualifying match in Mexico earlier this year, the American team
was subjected to sustained razzing by a section of the crowd,
including chants of "Osama, Osama!"
"We're not the favorite kid in the world right now," conceded Bill
Martin, the USOC's acting president. "We are sensitive not only to the
security issue, but to jingoism in its raw sense. That is why we are
sending people around to educate the athletes as to the appropriate
behavior."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
assurancetourix
the opening ceremony and the guy who announce the teams is requested
to pronounce the name of their country in Mandarin to prevent any
disgracious scenes. Apart from that everything goes well.
soca <so...@3ss.us> wrote in message news:<gugha09e5amhkbeir...@4ax.com>...
Don Del Grande
indulging in boasting behavior is becoming part of our society in
sport because every night on TV we see our athletes -- professional,
college or otherwise -- taunting their opponents and going
face-to-face with each other"
I can only imagine how many members of USA's men's basketball "dream
team" wouldn't have shown up had they been told that they could not
wear the flag over the Reebok logo on those medal ceremony uniforms
that all USA medal winners had to wear.
-- Don
Raptor
> U.S. athletes told to cool it at Olympics
> By Simon Hart
> LONDON SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
> Published May 16, 2004
...Because the world is safer now.
--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"
Davide Tosi
>"Unfortunately, using the flag as a prop or a piece of apparel or
>indulging in boasting behavior is becoming part of our society in
>sport because every night on TV we see our athletes -- professional,
>college or otherwise -- taunting their opponents and going
>face-to-face with each other," Mr. Moran said. "We are trying for 17
>days to break that culture.
> "What I am telling the athletes is, 'Don't run over and grab a
>flag and take it round the track with you.' It's not business as usual
>for American athletes. If a Kenyan or a Russian grabs their national
>flag and runs round the track or holds it high over their heads, it
>might not be viewed as confrontational. Where we are in the world
>right now, an American athlete doing that might be viewed in another
>manner."
> Mr. Moran added that the behavior of British athletes could face
>similar scrutiny in Athens, though the British Olympic Association
>insists there are no plans to ban them from celebrating with the Union
>flag.
??????
Someone should explain to this Moran (Moron?) guy that Greece is not a
muslim country and a christian right wing, pro Atlantic party just won the
elections there ...
assurancetourix
Wanna bet that the Greeks will nearly lynch the US team?
Karen
>NEW YORK -- American athletes have been warned not to wave the U.S.
>flag during their medal celebrations at this summer's Olympic Games in
>Athens, for fear of provoking crowd hostility and harming the
>country's already-battered public image.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2004
Statement From United States Olympic Committee
Chief Executive Jim Scherr Regarding U.S. Athletes
Celebrating with the American Flag
at the Athens Olympic And Paralympic Games
"The United States Olympic Committee wants to make it absolutely clear
that we have not -- and will not -- instruct our athletes to refrain
from waving the United States flag during the upcoming Athens Olympic
and Paralympic Games. Any suggestions or statements to the contrary do
not reflect the official position of our organization.
Athletes will be free, as always, to celebrate their performances in
an exuberant, respectful way during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
We will remind our athletes that they are guests of the Olympic
movement, Greece, and the city of Athens and to be good ambassadors of
our country, their communities, families and sports. We want our
athletes to be champions who conduct themselves with class and, if it
is the case, to lose with grace and dignity. Additionally, we are
reminding them to treat the United States flag with the respect it
deserves.
One of the proudest moments of my life was to put on my USA warm-up
and represent my country at the 1988 Olympic Games. I know our
athletes feel the same way today and we will not in any way infringe
upon that honor.
Accomplishments of athletes and teams such as the 1980 United States
Olympic Hockey Team, the great Billy Mills, swimming legend Janet
Evans and countless others have inspired our nation. We are certain
that the athletes who represent the United States at the 2004 Olympic
and Paralympic Games will do the same."
-- Copyright © 2003 United States Olympic Committee All Rights
Reserved
Harold Buck
Karen <kko...@charter.net> wrote:
I find it really interesting that they wrote this release in 2003 and
then waited until now to publish it.
--Harold Buck
"I used to rock and roll all night,
and party every day.
Then it was every other day. . . ."
-Homer J. Simpson
Davide Tosi
Yeah, I am willing to bet. I had been to Greece more than once and I have
known many Greek people. I can say that Greeks are among the most "Atlantic
oriented" populations in Europe. There's a very small but very vocal "no
global" minority there too, that is the heritage of the old communist
factions that tried some sort of coup at the end of WW2, but that was later
on reduced to minimal terms by the legendary Colonels that governed Greece
in tha '60s and '70s. But that minority is not the kind of people that
attend sport events and anyway they don't have the money to buy those
expensive tickets.
Of course, eventual booing of athletes involved in the Balco labs fiasco
that will be allowed to go anyway (ie marion jones) should not be counted
in this.
USA should better leave that part of their team at home, not for political
reason but for the sake of its own public image.