WATCH: Olympian Gwen Berry Reacts to Jen Psaki’s Comment About Her National Anthem Protest
Olympic athlete and activist Gwen Berry reacted to a statement by Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the protest that Berry staged at last week’s Olympic trials, telling Don Lemon she thought the White House’s comments were “spot on.”
Ms. Berry protested the playing of the anthem on Saturday as she accepted the bronze at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon, by turning her back on the flag and draping an “Activist Athlete” t-shirt over her head.
On Thursday night’s edition of CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight, host Don Lemon asked Berry about her protest, and Berry expanded on her previous criticism of the song The Star Spangled Banner.
Lemon asked if her main problem was with the song’s third verse, and Berry replied “It’s not that it’s hard. It’s the first — it’s the first verse. It’s the third verse. It’s all of these words. Freedom, justice. It mentions slaves. These are things that do not hold true for all Americans. And that’s just it. It’s not true for all Americans.”
“And even the flag, because you said symbol as well,” Lemon said, to which Berry replied, “I mean, we could say that.”
“Same thing?” Lemon asked.
“I just won’t stand for it. I just won’t stand for it,” Berry replied.
Berry also said she won’t change her position on the flag and the anthem once the problems plaguing the Black community are solved, and “and until America takes full accountability for the things that Blacks have to face here in America, I won’t stand for it, because we are capable of doing it.”
“Again, America is the greatest country in the world. We are capable of fixing these issues. I am tired of talking about them. I won’t do it anymore,” Berry said.
Lemon also played a clip of Psaki’s response to a question about the protest but omitted the question, which came from Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
Doocy described the protest, and asked: “Does President [Joe] Biden think that is appropriate behavior for someone who hopes to represent Team USA?”
Psaki replied “Well, Peter, I — I haven’t spoken to the President specifically about this, but I know he is incredibly proud to be an American and has great respect for the anthem and all that it represents, especially for our men and women serving in uniform all around the world. He would also say, of course, that part of that pride in our country means recognizing there are moments where we are, as a country, haven’t lived up to our highest ideals, and it means respecting the right of people granted to them in the Constitution to peacefully protest.”
“What do you think about that, Gwen?” Lemon asked following the clip.
“I think that was spot on,” Berry said. “They said it, I respect it.”
Lemon also asked Berry if she plans to protest during the Tokyo Olympic Games, to which Berry replied “We’ll see. You know, it just depends. It depends. You know everything is a spur of the moment. It depends on how I’m feeling and depends on what I want to do in that moment and what I want to do for my people in that moment. And I will do whatever comes upon me and whatever is in my heart.”
Watch above via CNN.
