Olympic Fencer Takes a Knee

Brut America

"It was a moment for me to speak up." Here's why Olympic fencer Race Imboden kneeled during the national anthem at the Pan Am Games.

Transcript

00:00I love our country, I love what it represents, and I'm about making America the best place

00:05it can be for everyone, including everyone in on all the things that make us great.

00:08Nealing as a white man is something that may be shocking to some people.

00:31I made the decision just based on the fact that my feeds were flooded with, all week

00:35with the shootings in Dayton and El Paso.

00:39So it was kind of a terrible, terrible week for the country, and yet at the same time

00:43I'm standing at the top of the podium, and it was a moment for me to speak up.

01:02A lot of people consider taking a knee a disrespectful act because it's kneeling in

01:07front of our flag and during our anthem.

01:09I understand people's disgust, and I understand people's dislike of the act, but I do know

01:15that I didn't do it out of any distaste for the actual flag or for our country or our

01:20anthem.

01:21I love our country, I love what it represents, and I'm about making America the best place

01:26it can be for everyone, including everyone in on all the things that make us great.

01:30Throughout history, whether it's Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommy Smith, Colin Kaepernick

01:36recently, Megan Rapinoe, all these athletes are people that spoke up, and they're leaders.

01:42And athletes have always been leaders, they're the people who cross lines, they cross state

01:46lines, they cross international lines, they inspire people.

01:49That's why I believe it's particularly important for people with a platform, any kind of platform,

01:54should speak up.

02:01There is such thing as white privilege.

02:05We have to accept that and understand that understanding your own privileges is understanding

02:11the privilege that people lack.

02:14I grew up in a very culturally clashing childhood, so I was in Atlanta and went to school and

02:22was the only white kid in my class.

02:24I then moved to New York.

02:26You're faced with a lot of diversity every day.

02:29I then started to fence, and in fencing, you're back into a very non-diverse community.

02:37And so my life was constantly a clash between being around people who are diverse and well-spoken

02:44and maybe, for me, more culturally aware, to being in a sport that necessarily isn't.

02:50I do think, though, that the media, and when you see me on social media, they strip you

02:55a lot of who you are, and they simply put you down to whatever your base two-word personality

03:02chart is.

03:03So for me, it was a white kid who fences.

03:05And so, after being stripped myself, I thought it was a great opportunity to speak up and

03:09say, you know, guys, this is what it's like, and it can happen to any of us.

03:19Sports is a game.

03:21It's a game that is all about selfishness.

03:23It's about winning.

03:25It's about losing.

03:26It's about becoming the best you can be.

03:28But there is more to life than just your own gold medals, your own trophy cases.

03:33And it's about realizing that sports is about building character, and us as athletes build

03:39character stronger than, I believe, almost anyone else in the world, in any other career.

03:44And we don't use our character to help others enough.

03:48And so I don't believe that everyone has to take a stand like I did, but I do believe

03:52it's our responsibility to use the character that we build to help build the characters

03:56of others, and protect others, and support people who are not supported.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended