Speedskater Shani Davis is not happy that he was not selected to serve as the United States’ flag bearer during the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics. Moreover, he seems upset that he lost on a coin flip.
Here’s a tweet Davis sent about the matter early Thursday from South Korea:
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. #BlackHistoryMonth2018 #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/dsmTtNkhJs
— Shani Davis (@ShaniDavis) February 8, 2018
The American flag bearer will be luger Erin Hamlin.
Hamlin is in her fourth Olympics and won a bronze medal in the luge at the 2014 Winter Games. She is the first American to win an Olympic medal in singles luge. Davis is in his fifth Olympics and has won two golds and two silvers (one each in Turin and Vancouver).
Each of the eight US federations (bobsled and skeleton, ski and snowboarding, figure skating, curling, biathlon, hockey, speedskating and luge) got to vote for a flag bearer. Davis and Hamlin were the finalists and each got four votes. A coin flip was used to determine the selection, and Hamlin was the winner.
That’s a crappy way to lose such a big honor. Maybe next time if there’s a 4-4 vote just have both athletes do it?
