A coin toss is racist

Another issue ripped from today's screaming headlines.

#YouCan'tMakeThisShitUp

From the UKIndependent.com:

Winter Olympics 2018: Shani Davis suggests decision to make Erin Hamlin US flag bearer was racially motivated

by Ian Ransom American speed skater posted on Twitter that the toss of a coin decision was 'dishonourable' before adding the hash tag 'BlackHistoryMonth' after he skipped the opening ceremony American luger Erin Hamlin said it was "too bad" that there was disappointment about her carrying the United States' flag at the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony and that any athlete would have felt honoured to accept the task. Bronze medallist Hamlin was awarded the flag over Shani Davis by the toss of a coin, angering the twice Olympic champion speed skater who became the first black athlete to claim an individual medal in 2006. The flag-bearer is chosen by a vote of the eight US winter sports federations but the result was tied at 4-4 between Hamlin and Davis and a coin was used to break the tie, in keeping with United States Olympic Committee [USOC] rules.

Okay. Anyone can be disappointed by losing a coin toss to represent the United States. I get it. Olympians are competitive. But wait; there's more.

Hamlin, who will retire after the Games, became the first American female luger to win an Olympic medal when she won bronze in Sochi four years ago. Davis had tweeted that the coin toss was a "dishonorable" method to decide and added the hashtag "BlackHistoryMonth2018", suggesting racial bias was involved. He declined to march at the opening ceremony.

Okay, so a puerile, jejune competitor decides to "sit out" the opening of the 2018 Winter Olympics because he lost a coin toss? No, actually it's much more than that. It's the underlying foundation of why he made the decision and proffered his statements.

It's because he feels entitled to do so due to recent actions by black NFL players and Colin Kaepernick. It's because he knows it's the "milk run" of retorts. It's also because of two additional factors: he has insufficient intelligence to make an otherwise cogent rebuttal and, finally, he exposes his own racism.

It's the easiest route of a racist lout.

Sorry, it really doesn't get more complicated than that.

 And it's so damned tedious.

BZ