It was announced that Coco Gauff and LeBron James would be the Opening Ceremony flag bearers for the 2024 Paris Olympics. What is beautiful about this is that their fellow athletes voted for them to have the honor. While LeBron was no surprise, being the most consistently dominant player on the basketball court over the past two decades with no end in sight, Coco, young and coming into her prime on the tennis court, wasn’t received as easily. After a fantastic season over the past year, coming home with a Grand Slam of her own, New Balance Shoe, and a Vogue Cover, Coco has won on the court and in our hearts as a classy 20-year-old American Sweetheart.
When I saw the announcement, I thought, “How wonderful for her. I think she represents our country well wherever she goes!” But deep down, I knew the social media comments would suggest otherwise. Unfortunately, I was right. They were riddled with ignorance, pitting other athletes against one another, suggesting other women were more deserving (even athletes who were ineligible due to previously carrying the flag in either an opening or closing ceremony), complaining about the decision due to ignorantly not knowing it’s fellow Team USA athletes who make the decision collectively. Others inevitably mention race, and some people are just being mean for the hell of it.
Reading people’s (likely non-athletes) comments riles me up because there’s a lack of respect and understanding. It’s as if they forget that these athletes are human and can read. It’s hard to accept that people are entitled to their opinions, especially when the most baseless and wrong takes are the loudest in the room, or this case, the comment section.
Deep down, the best part about the comment section, in this case, is the fact that most of the negative commenters are likely in the same spot watching Coco in Paris waving the flag smiling from ear to ear whether the haters liked it or not.
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