Preston: Fire Chelsea Wolfe. Don't cancel Megan Rapinoe.

Chelsea Wolfe, a BMX Freestyle Rider, is scheduled to head to the Tokyo Olympics, qualifying as an alternate. However, just last year in a Facebook post, she said, “My goal is to win the Olympics so I can burn a US flag on the podium.” You simply can’t represent a nation on the international stage, that you calculatedly want to disparage and insult, particularly when that is your stated motive to compete. 

People who misunderstand the concept of the First Amendment, are rallying around her right to free speech. Here’s the thing, the First Amendment just means government can’t restrict your speech, it doesn’t mean a private company can’t. People get fired all the time for their words online and elsewhere. If a company feels you don’t properly represent their brand, based on your public words, you’re out. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee is a not-for-profit corporation, not a government entity, and their “brand” is quite literally the flag of the United States of America. It’s the central piece of the corporation’s logo. I’m pretty sure any company would fire an employee for stating they want to work with them for the public opportunity to burn their logo. 

But, it’s more than that.  The Olympic Games are there to put politics aside. 

It’s where our national borders are defined not by government or politicians, but by sports; by talent and teamwork; by patriotism and dedication to the athlete’s art and the nation he or she represents. You simply cannot be part of that, when your stated goal is to burn that which represents all of it. 

I actually believe Americans have the right to burn the flag. I think it’s disgusting, but I believe one has the right. There is no greater hypocrisy than to burn the symbol of the right to burn the symbol. I think that is lost on those who burn our flag. However, freedom is messy and sometimes ugly. But, that is freedom.  That does not mean exerting your freedom, by saying you want to burn the flag on the international stage of the Olympic Podium, is not without consequences. The only appropriate consequence here, is for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to fire Chelsea Wolfe and remove her from contention as an alternate in the July games. 

Speaking of U.S. sports, soccer star Megan Rapinoe is again caught up in a controversy. Just named to this summer's Olympic squad, the team captain is being assailed for a decade old tweet to a former teammate. In 2011, Megan tweeted to Olympic Gold medalist, Natasha Kai, “u look asian with those closed eyes!” Now she’s being called a racist and people are tagging her sponsor companies, Subway and Victoria Secret, to have her canned. I’m trying to figure out what’s so offensive about this Tweet.  We have no context. We don’t know what it’s in response to, since Natasha no longer has that Twitter account and, she is in fact part Asian. Natasha is of European, Hawaiian, Chinese and Filipino decent. She probably did look Asian in whatever picture Rapinoe was referring to, because she is. A couple week’s ago I introduced myself to someone and used my married name, (Xanthopoulos) and the person replied, “Xanthopoulos? You look Irish.” I laughed, I’m about half Irish. How is that a “racist” or ethnically derogatory statement? It’s a point of fact. 

Let me be honest, I don't like Megan Rapinoe. I find her entitled and selfish both on and off the pitch. Yes, she’s one of the greatest female soccer players in the world. I just think she’s a jerk and I don’t like jerks representing America on the International stage.  I can respect her talent and not like her. And, I do. I also don’t like Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo because he dedicated a museum and a statue to himself, and publicly shamed his ten year old for eating chips, he’s still one of the best, if not the best, soccer player alive today. I digress. 

I’m going to defend the jerky Megan Rapinoe here. We need to stop taking comments and Tweets out of context, particularly, when they are a decade old. People demanding her sponsorships be cancelled aren’t actually offended, they just don't like Megan for the same reasons I don’t.  That doesn’t mean people should try to “cancel” her income. Notice I’m using the term “cancel”.  The same demographic of people demanding it from these sponsors, are the ones who criticize the “cancel culture”. I criticize the cancel culture. That means I don’t think Rapinoe should be”cancelled” because of a decade old tweet we dont’ know the context of. There are things worth firing someone for, such as publicly fantasizing about burning the very symbol you are representing. Rapinoe’s Tweet doesn’t meet that benchmark.  We need to be consistent if our concerns over cancel culture are to be taken seriously. 

Speaking of soccer, the Euro Cup (UEFA European Football Championship), delayed a year like the Olympics due to the Pandemic, are going on right now and I’d just like to say, “Viva La France!” 

Alicia Preston is a former political consultant and member of the media. She’s a native of Hampton Beach where she lives with her family and three poodles. The views expressed are those of the writer. Write to her at PrestonPerspective@gmail.com.