Anthem-snubbing hammer thrower Gwen Berry is sponsored by athletic brand Puma, a relationship she secured through a pro-“Defund the Police” group called Color of Change, which has sponsored Berry since last September.
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Berry qualified to represent the United States at the Olympics on Saturday, placing third in the hammer throw trials. While on stage receiving her medal, Berry turned her back to the flag and held up a t-shirt that read “Activist Athlete” when the anthem started playing,
“We’re proud to sponsor [Berry], to have negotiated a sponsorship with [Puma] and to continue to push corporations to support Black athletes who speak out for our communities. Grateful for Gwen’s leadership today and every day,” Color of Change posted to Twitter. “Thank you Color of Change for always standing with me,” Berry responded.
Fox News noted that Color of Change “is unapologetically in favor of defunding the police”:
“Policing is a violent institution that must end. We imagine a country where there is enough money to educate our children, care for our sick and feed those who are financially unstable. Defunding the police allows for this vision,” Color of Change President Rashad Robinson said in June after the Minneapolis City Council pledged to “dismantle” its police force.
The left-wing group also has active petitions in favor of defunding the police at both the local and national levels.
The sponsorship is somewhat unique, however, The Washington Post explained: “Rather than paying Berry to endorse and promote its brand, Color of Change cajoled and pressured companies to support her so Berry could maintain a platform from which to advocate. The partnership proved pivotal … the apparel company Puma announced it signed Berry to a contract that will pay her $15,000, provide her equipment and apparel and place her in a campaign titled ‘She Moves Us.’”
“We have the responsibility to support those calling for changes,” said Puma marketing executive Adam Petrick to the Post.
Days before her showing at the trials, Berry told the Post that representing America has been an issue for her, since the country allegedly works to disenfranchise black Americans.
“For me, it’s always been something that’s been underlyingly uncomfortable, knowing that I’m rocking this big ‘USA’ across my chest when everything about America is to demean and to keep Black people at the bottom of the totem pole,” she said. “It has always, always, always been something I have been very uncomfortable with. I’m glad I’m able to say that without being punished or without being misunderstood.
“I try to compartmentalize it. I try to say, ‘The USA can mean a lot of things.’ I try to give it my own meaning, just to say that I do deserve to represent a country that my people have built uncompensated, have worked for and have survived throughout,” Berry continued. “I just have to give myself a different meaning of it, regardless of how uncomfortable I am with what it is sometimes.”
Related: GOP Lawmakers, Veterans Call For Gwen Berry To Lose Olympic Spot Over Anthem Protest
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Source: Dailywire
