Speed Skater Shani Davis: Team USA Chose Olympics Flag-Bearer ‘Dishonorably’
American speed skater Shani Davis was not pleased about how Team USA selected its flag-bearer for the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The two-time Olympic champion expressed his frustration on Twitter after he missed out on the honor to women’s luge veteran Erin Hamlin.
“@TeamUSA dishonorably tossed a coin to decide its 2018 flag bearer,” Davis wrote on Thursday. “No problem. I can wait until 2022.”
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
— Shani Davis (@ShaniDavis) February 8, 2018
Davis, who was the first black athlete to win individual gold at a Winter Olympics at the 2006 Turin Games also captioned his post with the #BlackHistoryMonth2018 hashtag.
The coin toss followed a 4-4 tie between Davis and Hamlin after athletes from the U.S. Olympic Committee’s eight different sports federations involved in the Winter Games cast their votes. No evidence was offered to suggest that the toss was altered or weighted in any way.
Pyeongchang marks Davis’ fifth Winter Olympics. It will be Hamlin’s fourth. Neither athlete has made further comment on Davis’ tweet.
Hamlin said she was “incredibly proud” to lead the team.
Beyond grateful to be a part of this team and incredibly proud to have the privilege of leading every amazing @TeamUSA athlete into that stadium tonight. Let's do this!! 🙌🏼🇺🇸💪🏼 #TeamUSA #starsandstripes #olympics @GettySport pic.twitter.com/B9bYUcgMys
— Erin Hamlin (@erinhamlin) February 9, 2018
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
