In 1968, Many Black Athletes boycotted the Olympics. Those that were there still engaged in protests with Smith and Carlos the most visible.
I have zero problem with an individual athlete who feels the need to boycott. That's almost admirable if someone has serious issues they think they need be addressed. Just don't go. Your message will be received.
But to compete with the goal of being an embarrassment to your country? No, **** that...
1972 saw the terrorist attack against Israel
Black September chose the '72 Olympics not for the political statement it would make. They chose the Olympics because security in the Olympic Village, back then, was a complete joke. If they could've figured out how to perpetrate that same crime in Israel they never would've gone to Germany...
1980 was boycotted by the US
And Russia boycotted in 1984.
I'm not talking about countries. I'm talking about individual athletes who decide that, if they get on the podium, they're going to embarrass their country by promoting their own political agenda. That's why so many people are reveling in the women's soccer team loss. The country is giving them a collective "**** you", and it's well deserved.
You want to know what the Olympics are about? They're about someone like Tamyra Mensah-Stock, a TRUE American champion, who understands and appreciates what the games are all about. You put your personal feelings aside and suck it up and, if you can't, you don't compete.
What's sad is that Mensah-Stock will probably be ostracized by the black community. She'll be the target for our local USMB idiots; people like IM2 and Paul Essien. She'll be labeled a "sellout" and someone who doesn't represent the black community. The truth is that she's a great competitor, a great athlete and a great champion who knows that she, as an American wrestler at the Olympic games, represents us all...