Olympic Gold Medalist Kneels for ‘Star Spangled Banner’ at Brazil Swim Meet

Olympic gold medalist Anthony Ervin knelt for the “Star Spangled Banner” at a swim meet in Brazil over the weekend.

“My point is to save lives,” Ervin explained on Twitter, “and understand the imbalance. We all have our area. I’m a swimmer.”

As a swimmer, Ervin won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and another pair at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Most of the hardware came about as a result of Ervin’s prowess in the 50-meter freestyle.

Ervin successfully defended that 50-meter title at the Raia Rapida in the same pool in which he won the 2016 gold medal. His initial kneeling demonstration, as first reported by SwimSwam.com,  followed his serving as the anchorman of a coed relay team.

Ervin took a knee in flip flops and placed his right hand over his heart. He did so, fortunately for him, from the floor above the pool rather than the floor of the pool. He did so, fortunately for him, from the floor above the pool rather than the floor of the pool. The gesture on Brazilian ground drew quizzical looks from competitors.

Sporting arms and legs covered in tattoos, the lanky athlete who often swims against the current sold his 2000 gold medal on eBay to benefit 2004’s Boxing Day tsunami victims. He abruptly retired from swimming after the Sydney games but made a comeback for London and medaled in Rio at 35. Although Ervin boasts an African-American father (and a Jewish mom), he concedes that he did not know the typical black experience growing up. He competes in a sport dominated by whites and heretofore largely devoid of politics (if not controversy—see Ryan Lochte).

“I didn’t know a thing about what it was like to be part of the black experience,” Ervin, as noted by SwimSwam.com, wrote in his autobiography. He added, “But now I do. It’s like winning gold and having a bunch of old white people ask you what it’s like to be black. That’s my black experience.”