Disaster Raven Saunders wins silver in shot putt, makes statement for unity

What a fucking joke. What a nasty-looking critter. Her fifteen minutes of fame should be over ..... now. 🤣

Raven Saunders wins silver in shot putt, makes statement for unity​


Associated Press
Sun, August 1, 2021, 7:15 AM


The Charleston, South Carolina native says she made an X on the medal podium to symbolize people coming together. (Guess again. : JS)

The “Incredible Hulk” mask should not fool anybody. Raven Saunders has nothing to hide.

The face, and the voice, of the Tokyo Olympics, and all they’re about, could very well be found in a 25-year-old American shot putter who, on Sunday, could be spotted wearing the green and red superhero face covering, sporting the purple and green hair, donning the neon-blue shades and winning a shiny silver medal.

During the photo op at her medals ceremony Sunday night, Saunders stepped off the podium, lifted her arms above her head and formed an “X’ with her wrists. Asked what that meant, she explained: “It’s the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.”

A meaningful gesture for Saunders, who is openly gay, has contemplated suicide, has seen poverty and depression ravage her Black community and others like it. She has often wondered if the Olympics, which make a grand point of celebrating diversity but often struggles to live up to that mission, have a spot for a person like her.

She has decided to claim her place either way. And in a space where Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and other, better-known Olympians, have been speaking their truth, Saunders is more than willing to share hers, too.

“To be me. To not apologize,” she said in a wide-ranging conversation after her second-place finish, when asked what her ultimate mission is. “To show younger people that no matter how many boxes they try to fit you in, you can be you and you can accept it. People tried to tell me not to do tattoos and piercings and all that. But look at me now, and I’m poppin’.”
https://sneed.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ZnBdCF9gRKgpPm44ZeOrng--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MC4zMTI1/https://sneed.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/eAFYIVWiib4tlPNS6hcryw--~B/aD02ODM7dz0xMDI0O2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u/https://media.zenfs.com/en/thegrio_yahoo_articles_946/5ded4c1972875281971873247f641c5b
Raven Saunders poses with her silver medal on women’s shot put at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The Hulk mask that Saunders started wearing not so long ago has its roots in many things. Namely, it is a reminder that a woman who has bench pressed 480 pounds and squatted 700 pounds and won four NCAA titles is bound to look tough on the outside, but might be very different inside.

Even though she had already been to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and was in the midst of a career on an upward track, Saunders said in an Instagram post that on Jan. 26, 2018, she was on her way to “carrying (out) an attempt to end my life.”

“If not for sending a text to an old therapist I would not be here (right now),” she said. “All these things weighing on me for 22 years, I was finally able to process it. I was finally able to separate Raven from ‘The Hulk.'”

Saunders is one of around 180 out LGBTQ athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics, according to the website Outsports, which estimates that’s more than triple the number who competed in Brazil five years ago.

She recently told the website she came out to her mom in third grade. She was outed to classmates in sixth grade, and in ninth grade, she finally started becoming comfortable with who she was. By the time she got to college, Saunders was out.
It was never an easy road.
“I feel like the atmosphere around a lot of things, especially when you’re doing so well, is ‘Well, you have everything going for you so you don’t have anything to worry about,'” Saunders said. “Whereas for me, it was like a whirlwind.”
https://sneed.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/x1RLPxOsZ4Fdd446eMYQRQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MC4zMTI1/https://sneed.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/usTUc.ciA5jGl.Zem1tqVg--~B/aD02ODM7dz0xMDI0O2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u/https://media.zenfs.com/en/thegrio_yahoo_articles_946/b6451a2fccdfde21855fb10ccbbb9d3c
Raven Saunders celebrates after her second-place finish in the final of the women’s shot put at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

She used her platform Sunday to talk about mental health, especially in the Black community, where she saw depression and other symptoms go untreated and unspoken about for years. “The crazy house,” is what she said some homes were called in the Black community where the symptoms were seen but not checked.

She said these days, some of her friends and classmates see therapists, where they wouldn’t have done that a few years ago.
“It’s OK to need people, and I feel like in our community, a lot of times through history, we haven’t had access to the resources to be able to do that,” she said.
Among those Saunders has leaned on recently are Gwen Berry, the outspoken hammer thrower with whom she crossed paths during her time at the University of Mississippi.
“Raven has been through hell and back,” Berry said after advancing to the finals in her own competition. “I’m so happy to see her thrive and win. I’ll tell you a little secret, about two months ago she called me on the phone crying. She’s been through a lot. So I’m happy for her.”

All these struggles are not nearly as fraught today as they were five, or three, or even one year ago. Mental health has been the prime topic of the Olympics, and along with her spot on the podium, Saunders seems more than ready to stake her claim in the heart of this conversation.
The more she’s out there, the more she’s finding that she is not alone.

“I really think my generation really don’t care,” Saunders said. “Shout out to all my Black people, shout out to all my LBGTQ community, shout out to everybody dealing with mental health. Because at the end of the day, we understand that it’s bigger than us, and it’s bigger than the powers that be.”

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Raven Saunders wins silver in shot putt, makes statement for unity

The “Incredible Hulk” mask should not fool anybody. Raven Saunders has nothing to hide. The face, and the voice, of […] The post Raven Saunders wins silver in shot putt, makes statement for unity appeared first on TheGrio.
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Raven Saunders wins silver in shot putt, makes statement for unity

archived 1 Aug 2021 21:29:59 UTC
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Saunders is pretty chill, but of course, KF gonna KF. Losers calling someone else a loser for dumb reasons. Good on her for getting the silver and not spending x amount of time bitching about the US
 
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Looks like the IOC wants to take her down.

Raven Saunders didn’t break rules with Olympic protest, US officials say (Archive)

The Olympic medalist who made a symbol of protest with her arms during a medaling ceremony didn’t break any rules according to US officials — but she could still face punishment from the International Olympic Committee.

Star shot putter Raven Saunders said the “X” formation she made overhead Sunday after winning the silver medal was meant to honor oppressed people “all over the world” and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced Monday it didn’t break any rules.

“As with all delegations, Team USA is governed by the Olympic Charter and rules set forth by the IOC for Tokyo 2020,” the USOPC said in a statement.

“Per the USOPC’s delegation terms, the USOPC conducted its own review and determined that Raven Saunders’ peaceful expression in support of racial and social justice that happened at the conclusion of the ceremony was respectful of her competitors and did not violate our rules related to demonstration.”

The USOPC noted Saunders performed the demonstration during a brief window on the podium typically reserved for photographs that came after the athletes received their medals and the playing of the Chinese national anthem for gold medalist Gong Lijiao.

The group said they are in touch with World Athletics, track and field’s international federation, and the IOC, which told USA Today in an email they are “looking into” the USOPC’s statement.

“We are not surprisingly looking into the matter, and will consider our next steps. We need to fully establish what’s going on and then take a decision from there,” IOC chief spokesperson Mark Adams said.

The IOC has long banned forms of protests during the Games and while they did relax the rules last month to allow demonstrations on the field as long as they aren’t disruptive or disrespectful to fellow competitors, they’re still not allowed on the podium during medaling ceremonies.

Saunders could still face sanctions for the protest because it was done on the podium and appeared to reference the threat in a tweet late Sunday.

“Let them try and take this medal. I’m running across the border even though I can’t swim,” she wrote with a laughing emoji.

The Charleston, South Carolina native has previously suffered from mental health issues and following her Sunday win, said she hopes she can continue to inspire others.

“For everything I’ve been through mental health-wise, injuries, you know, everything like that … being able to really invest everything I’ve had mentally and physically and to be able to walk away with a medal, and be able to go out here and really inspire so many people … I really just hope that I can continue to inspire and motivate,” she said.

Olympic Officials Face Off Over Protest Rules As U.S. Backs Shot Putter Raven Saunders In Podium Demonstration (Archive)

U.S. Olympic officials are on a possible collision course with the International Olympic Committee Monday after the organization said it did not believe Team USA shot put silver medallist Raven Saunders broke rules against protests on the podium, raising questions over what will happen if American officials—who have stated they will not punish athletes for protesting—are instructed to sanction Saunders.

KEY FACTS
In a statement Monday, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said Saunders’ gesture did not breach its rules governing protests by athletes.

After conducting its own review, the USOPC determined Saunders' “peaceful expression in support of racial and social justice” did not violate rules, “was respectful of her competitors” and did not take place during the awarding of medals or the Chinese national anthem (played for the winner).

On Monday, the International Olympic Committee said it is investigating the gesture as a potential breach of its rules governing athlete protests, which could result in sanctions.

The IOC eased rules forbidding protests of any kind for the Tokyo 2020 Games, though the body said they must be done respectfully and not on the podium during awards ceremonies.

The IOC also said it is in contact with World Athletics, which governs the sport internationally, over the protest, though the organization does not have rules forbidding demonstrations and is unlikely to sanction.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The IOC has not stipulated how athletes breaking its protest rules will be punished. Its rules and views are in conflict with those of the USOPC and the USOPC is required to mete out any punishment, if issued. The USOPC has stated it will not sanction athletes demonstrating at the Tokyo Games.

CRUCIAL QUOTE
Saunders said she formed the X above her head to represent “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.” The silver medallist, who is Black, gay and outspoken about her struggles with her mental health, challenged officials to “try and take this medal.” Saunders said the gesture was a “shout out” to Black people, the LGBTQ community and all people dealing with mental health. “At the end of the day, we understand it’s bigger than us and it’s bigger than the powers that be,” she said. “We understand that there’s so many people that are looking up to us, that are looking to see if we say something or if we speak up for them.”

TANGENT
Team USA gymnast Simone Biles, who has withdrawn from several events in Tokyo on mental health grounds, gave her support to Saunders on social media. Biles posted a picture of Saunders with her arms crossed on the podium. “If you are Black, LGBTQIA+ or mentally struggling, this one is for you,” the image said. “Shout out to all my fighters.”

KEY BACKGROUND
The IOC bans protests under Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda.” It does so to keep the “field of play, the Olympic Village and the podium neutral and free from any form of political, religious or ethnic demonstrations,” in keeping with the message of unity the “Olympic Movement seeks to advance.” The rule is contentious and has not stopped the many Olympic protests over the years. There have been several protests at the 2020 Games already, though none have yet been punished. This includes Costa Rican gymnast Luciana Alvarado, who took a knee and pushed her fist in the air to recognize the Black Lives Matter movement during her routine. The IOC has come under increasing pressure to remove or relax the rule, particularly in the wake of racial justice protests following the killing of George Floyd. U.S. officials are lobbying to have the rule removed before Los Angeles hosts the game in seven years.
 
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THE DAILY DOSE!
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I like the part where she won a medal for the USA and waved the flag.
Dysnomia said:
I have no idea who she or a shot putt is. I just clicked to see if it was a troon or not. Looks like one to me.
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You spin around and chuck a heavy ball to see who can make it go farthest. It’s some old school track and field shit.
 
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