HuffPost has come under fire after calling it a “turn off” to be waving the American flag or chanting “U-S-A” following the record gold medal victories at the Winter Olympics – the most since 2002.
Team USA scored a total of 12 Gold medals at the Winter Olympics after men’s hockey defeated Canada, ending a 46-year drought since the “Miracle on Ice” against the Soviet Union in 1980.
Amid all this patriotic fervor, HuffPost felt the need to say, “If waving the American flag or chanting “USA!” turns you off right now, you’re not alone.”
The post on social media prompted significant backlash.
An article written by former ESPN commentator Jemele Hill in The Atlantic argued that the Trump administration put Olympic athletes in a difficult position.
“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) pushes the myth that the Olympics are meant to be a safe, apolitical space. Tell that to the American athletes at this year’s Winter Olympics who are being asked tough questions about the political and social turmoil in their home country,” she wrote.
Hill’s article also received criticism.