American Skater Shani Davis Boycotts Olympic Opening Ceremony Over Coin Toss

After a coin toss decided the flag bearer for Team USA in the Olympic opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, skater Shani Davis boycotted the event altogether.

Davis, 31, lost the toss to Erin Hamlin, a four-time Olympian and winner of the bronze medal for luge in the 2014 Sochi Games. The toss was issued to be the deciding factor after a committee tied on its nominations for the flag bearer, 4-4 between Davis and Hamlin.

While a U.S. speed skating spokesperson claimed “it was never part of his plans” to march in the opening ceremony parade of nations, Davis took to Twitter to throw a punch at Hamlin and the sports federations who did not unanimously select him. As one of the few black athletes competing on Team USA, the speed skater should have been chosen to carry the country’s flag.

“I am an American and when I won the 1000m in 2010 I became the first American to 2-peat in that event. @TeamUSA dishonorably tossed a coin to decide its 2018 flag bearer. No problem. I can wait until 2022,” Davis wrote on Twitter, adding hashtags for “Black History Month 2018” and “Pyeongchang 2018.”

Some slammed Davis in return for being a “sore loser” by opting to skip the celebration of his country for not being given a special honor.

“Sounds like sour grapes to me. If it were up to me, you’d never be up for this honor in the future,” one critical follower wrote. Another praised Davis’ athleticism but asked, “Would you consider the coin flip dishonorable had you won?”

Others defended Davis’ argument, suggesting that his Olympic accomplishments (and the timeliness of the February games being held during Black History Month) may have earned him the right to carry the flag.

In response to some negative comments, one user wrote, “I don’t agree with him throwing everyone under the bus but I do understand where he was coming from.” In another post, a user wrote, “You don’t have to agree with his statement but respect it.”

And some supporters had trouble wrapping their heads around the issue, given that Davis argued that his race should have given him an advantage.

“Shani, you’re one hell of an athlete and more than qualified to be the flag bearer. It wasn’t right to be narrowed to a coin toss. It equally wasn’t right to reference black history month in your retort. Only a person’s accomplishments, not race, should be emphasized,” a follower replied. Another added that “the only color Americans will see over the next two weeks is Red, White and Blue.”

Despite the drama, Hamlin said in a statement that she felt “honored and excited” to be name the flag bearer for Team USA, adding that “this is something totally different.”

“It’s something that is because of that hard work. People acknowledge that and respect that. It’s a big privilege to represent Team USA,” she added.