'There's a lot of s**t I don't do like I did when I was 18 or 20': 'Activist-athlete' Gwen Berry tries to brush off history of racially charged tweets and compares herself to Brett Kavanaugh during his SCOTUS nomination
Olympic hammer thrower Gwen Berry has defended her history of racially-charged and offensive tweets and compared the controversy to the three decades-old allegations that surfaced against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court nomination.
The 32-year-old took to Twitter Saturday afternoon after a series of derogatory comments she made about Chinese, Mexican and white people, as well as tasteless jokes about rape, came to light.
The offensive tweets dated back up to ten years, but were still visible on her account last weekend when she caused an uproar by snubbing the American national anthem during her Olympic qualifier.
'Is that the best THEY could come up with?' Berry tweeted Saturday, sharing a link to a New York Post article about her past comments.
'I’ll just say I can relate to the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the USA Brett Kavanaugh and agree, there’s a lot of s**t I don’t do like I did when I was 18 or 20.'
Gwen Berry , left, turns her back as the nation anthem is played last weekend on the podium after the Women's Hammer Throw final on day nine of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon on June 26
Berry defended her history of racially-charged and offensive social media posts in a tweet Saturday (above) and compared the controversy to the three decades-old allegations that surfaced against Brett Kavanaugh
The majority of the tweets uncovered are more than ten years old, but Berry was competing for the United States on the national stage
Berry drew parallels between herself and Kavanaugh, referencing that they both came under fire for comments or actions made several years earlier.
Kavanaugh's nomination for Supreme Court justice by Donald Trump sparked an uproar back in 2018 as three women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct back in the 1980s.
One of his alleged victims Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school.
The FBI launched an investigation and several Democratic senators called for his nomination to be rescinded but he was confirmed as a justice by the Senate.
In Berry's case, the athlete posted tweets mocking Chinese, Mexican and white people up to a decade ago.
The posts, which began recirculating online Friday, also included ill-judged jokes about rape, suggestions she would 'stomp on a child', as well as using the word 'retarded', widely seen as being offensive and disrespectful, Fox News reported.
Most of the tweets came when the 32-year-old was in her early 20s - well before she was on the Olympic teams for Rio in 2016 and Team USA for the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival, though she was still competing for the US at a national level.
Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for Supreme Court justice sparked an uproar back in 2018 as women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct in the 1980s. He is seen testifying on the allegations to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2018
Offensive and tasteless tweets have resurfaced by Olympian Gwen Berry
Some of the tweets appeared to mock people based on their race, with Berry writing in November 2012: 'Mexicans just don't care about ppl'.
In April 2011 she wrote: 'Just saw this gurl wearing heels with white socks!! What the Hell..#chineseppl always try to start new trends..smh..ggguuurrrllll.'
'This lil white boy being bad as hell!! I would smack his *** then stomp him!! Smh #whitepplKids hella disrespectful,' she tweeted in Jun 2011.
'White people are sooo retarded when they are drunk,' Berry wrote in a tweet later that same year.
'This lil white boy being bad as hell!! I would smack his ass then stomp him!! Smh #whitepplKids hella disrespectful,' Berry wrote in a June 2011 tweet.
'#BasketballWives is proof that white ppl run they got damn mouths too much n they nosey as hell n they start drama btw crazy blk b&^%^%' she tweeted in July 2011.
‘Julie from #BGC gotta nice ass body for a white girl,’ Berry observed in October 2012.
In another tweet she seemed to mock victims of rape, writing in March 2012: ’S/O to all the females that’s gon get drunk, get recked by 4 dudes, then cry **** this weekend'.
'I'm about to rape my lunch,' she wrote in a non-sensical tweet from October that year.
Berry's complaints about the American flag also came despite a photo posted to her website in June 2015 showing her beaming as she holds aloft the flag.
Critics pounced on the image, claiming it showed Berry was a fraud who only staged her protest on Sunday to raise her profile.
'Totally not all an act!' tweeted Donald Trump Jr.
'She was definitely not protesting to get attention for herself and/or maybe some of those woke Nike sponsorship dollars. 100% legit and not at all a cottage industry victimization scheme we see so much of these days.'
The revelations come after Berry turned her back last weekend when the national anthem was being played after her Olympic qualifier.
Toward the end of the anthem, Berry picked up a black T-shirt with the words 'Activist Athlete' emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head.
She later defended her protest, saying she was 'tricked' into being there at that moment, and was enraged and confused, insisting the anthem did not represent her - but that she still loves the United States.
On Twitter, she said: 'I never said I hated this country! People try to put words in my mouth but they can't. That's why I speak out. I LOVE MY PEOPLE.
'These comments really show that: 1.) people in American rally patriotism over basic morality. 2.) Even after the murder of George Floyd and so many others; the commercials, statements, and phony sentiments regarding black lives were just a hoax.'
On Tuesday, Berry told the Black News Channel why she protested during last weekend's trials.
'I never said that I didn't want to go to the Olympic Games, that's why I competed and got third and made the team,' Berry said.
'I never said that I hated the country. I never said that. All I said was I respect my people enough to not stand for or acknowledge something that disrespects them. I love my people. Point blank, period.'
Berry claimed she specifically has an issue with a line in The Star-Spangled Banner, which she says alludes to catching and beating slaves.
Berry said: 'If you know your history, you know the full song of the national anthem, the third paragraph speaks to slaves in America, our blood being slain...all over the floor.
'It's disrespectful and it does not speak for Black Americans. It's obvious. There's no question.'
Whether or not the line is actually racist remains a point of discussion among historians.
Berry previously protested during competition against racism, most recently raising a fist at the trials on Thursday, and said that she felt insulted by the Star-Spangled Banner playing as she took the podium.
Berry's complaints about the American flag also came despite a photo posted to her website in June 2015 showing her beaming as she holds aloft the flag
Toward the end of the anthem, Berry plucked up her black T-shirt with the words 'Activist Athlete' emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head
'I feel like it was a set-up, and they did it on purpose,' said Berry (right), who finished third to make her second U.S. Olympic team. 'I was pissed, to be honest.'
'They had enough opportunities to play the national anthem before we got up there,' she said.
'I was thinking about what I should do.
'Eventually I stayed there and I swayed, I put my shirt over my head. It was real disrespectful.
'It really wasn't a message. I didn't really want to be up there.
'Like I said, it was a setup. I was hot, I was ready to take my pictures and get into some shade,' added Berry.
'They said they were going to play it before we walked out, then they played it when we were out there,' Berry said.
'But I don't really want to talk about the anthem because that's not important.
'The anthem doesn't speak for me. It never has.'
USA Track and Field said the anthem was played once every day at the trials according to a published schedule.
Berry has been criticized by conservatives like Senator Ted Cruz who said her protest was disrespectful, and who claimed she hated her country.
Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, said she ought to be removed from the Olympics.
But Berry has received support from many on social media, including Olympic legend Michael Johnson - and she has vowed to compete.
'The point is to compete... which I will be doing,' she tweeted back at critics.
Berry was suspended for 12 months by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) for a raised fist at the 2019 Pan American Games, but did so again before Thursday's qualifying round as part of her quest for social change.
The USOPC in March reversed its stance and said that athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic trials can protest, including kneeling or raising a clenched fist on the podium or at the start line during the national anthem.
Berry has promised to use her position to keep raising awareness about social injustices in her home country.
'My purpose and my mission is bigger than sports,' Berry said.
'I'm here to represent those ... who died due to systemic racism. That's the important part.
'That's why I'm going. That's why I'm here today.'
Berry won two gold medals in Pan American competitions and finished third in the NACAC U23 Championships.
She also won indoor track and field national titles in the weight throw in 2013, 2014 and 2016, respectively together with an outdoor track and field national title in the hammer throw in 2017.
So far, USA Track and Field and representatives for Berry have not commented on the tweets.
Now, Berry will be heading to her second Olympics, and on Saturday she saw what it will take to earn a spot on the podium in Tokyo.
DeAnna Price won the trials with a throw of 263 feet, 6 inches, which was nearly 7 feet longer than Berry's throw. Brooke Andersen took second place.
Price, who became only the second woman in history to crack 80 meters, said she had no problem sharing the stage with Berry.
'I think people should say whatever they want to say. I'm proud of her,' Price said.
Berry said she needs to get 'my body right, my mind right and my spirit right' for the Olympics.
The women's hammer throw starts August 1 in Tokyo.
Athletes will be allowed to protest at next year's Tokyo Games without facing any form of punishment.
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