Hammer thrower Gwen Berry, who is set to represent Team USA later this month at the Tokyo Games, is back in the spotlight after problematic tweets have been uncovered.
Based on tweets posted to her verified account, some being decades old – which were still public as of publication – she has tweeted the R-word extensively, made facetious threats to stomp a child, made jokes about rape, offered commentary on White people and made generalizations about Chinese people.
Berry initially came under fire on Saturday for turning her back to the American flag while the national anthem played. She also draped a shirt that read “Activist Athlete” over her face.
Her demonstration led to calls from conservative voices for her to step aside. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have been among the loudest voices. Berry has also received support from many on social media, including Olympic legend Michael Johnson. But she vowed to compete.
The point is to compete … which I will be doing ☺️☺️ https://t.co/PUYGb6jqfX
— Gwendolyn Berry OLY, MPH (@MzBerryThrows) July 1, 2021
On Friday, internet sleuths unearthed decades-old tweets from the Olympian. The National Pulse was first to report on the tweets.
USA Track and Field and representatives for Berry didn’t immediately respond to Fox News’ requests for comment. Puma, one of Berry’s sponsors, also didn’t immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Some of the tweets unearthed came before Berry made the Olympic team in 2016 and 2021, and even before she was on Team USA for the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival and the 2019 Pan American Games, respectively – in both events she took home the gold medals.
The 32-year-old’s tweets likely came from when she was in her early 20s. As of Friday afternoon, the tweets were still active.
Berry has been one of the athletes who has protested during Team USA events. Last week, she raised a fist before one of her completions and was later scrutinized over the anthem.
On the playing of the anthem, Berry said she felt like she was set up. She claimed she was told that the anthem would be played before she took the podium.
