Racer Imboden Kneeling During Pan American Games National Anthem Has Emotional Reactions Pouring In

American fencer Racer Imboden won a gold medal with his team at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru on Friday. During the ceremony to celebrate the achievement, he turned heads by kneeling while the National Anthem was played. This gesture, which Imdoben used as a silent form of protest, could result in consequences from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

During the Pan American Games, Imboden was ranked as the world’s second-best in the foil event, and he won a bronze medal in the men’s individual foil on Tuesday. Friday, he helped the US win gold in the men’s foil team event. This capped off a very successful competition for the 26-year-old fencer, and he chose to finish by taking a stand for what he believes. As he explained to CNN, Imboden wanted to give up his moment of glory to instead bring attention to the issues in America.

“I’m very very proud to represent the U.S. in competition,” Imboden said. I’m a very proud athlete, and I think that America is one of the greatest countries in the world, athletically, and I would even argue that America is one of the greatest countries in the world, period. And for me, standing on top of the podium and hearing the Anthem play, for me, has always been a moment of pure pride.

“Over the last few years, I’ve started to come to different – I’ve had different beliefs that have kind of hurt that pride, and some of those things are what I listed, which is racism and mistreatment of immigrants, as well as our president and the things that he’s been representing.”

As someone that travels all over the world as part of his career, Imboden says that he has seen the terrible things that are happening in the world. The mass shootings that recently took place were just the latest incidents, and they served as a catalyst for his decision. Imboden felt that it was time to use his platform and try to make a change.

Of course, this movement has brought a considerable number of emotional reactions on social media. Some comments referred to Imboden as a disgrace while others said that he was actually trying to make the award ceremony about himself instead of focusing on making an actual difference.

That being said, there was an equal number of comments that lauded Imboden for his move. In their opinion, he was taking a considerable risk by kneeling, but the cause of the protest was simply too important.

Imboden was not the only participant at the games to take a stand for something they believe in. Gwen Berry, who won the gold medal in the Women’s Hammer Throw, raised her fist during the final stages of the National Anthem. Along with Imboden, she is likely to face disciplinary action considering that both athletes signed agreements not to make any political, religious, or racial remarks during the Pan American Games.

US Olympic and Paralympic Committee spokesman Mark Jones released a statement to CNN Sports following the event and said that “every athlete competing at the 2019 Pan American Games commits to terms of eligibility, including to refrain from demonstrations that are political in nature. In these cases, the athletes didn’t adhere to the commitment they made to the organizing committee and the USOPC. We respect their rights to express their viewpoints, but we are disappointed that they chose not to honor their commitment. Our leadership are reviewing what consequences may result.”

Imboden is well aware that there are potential repercussions for his actions. As he continued to explain during his interview with CNN, fencing is near and dear to his heart; it’s the reason that he gets out of bed in the morning. Being unable to participate would be excruciating. That being said, he did feel that making this statement was far more powerful, and he doesn’t regret any of his actions.