Three-time Olympian Lolo Jones said Monday that when fans tune in to an athletic event, they wish to watch sports, not the political activism that has taken stage at the Tokyo Olympics, which have endured record low ratings on top of fans not being present.
"People just want to tune in to watch sports to just watch sports. And they're not there for the political side of it," Jones told Fox News' Sandra Smith on "America Reports."
WATCH: @SandraSmithFox speaks with three-time Olympic champion, and her former @LSU teammate, @lolojones about the Tokyo Olympics #AmericaReports pic.twitter.com/JVKZv5nIP9
— America Reports (@AmericaRpts) July 26, 2021
This comes after hammer thrower Gwen Berry turned away from the American flag as the national anthem was playing while she was on the podium at the U.S. Olympic trials, where she earned a bronze medal. She also threw a shirt over her head that read “Activist Athlete.”
Jones said that there "has to be a percentage of people" that are refusing to watch the Olympics due to anti-American political activism taking place. She pointed out that, after Berry's protest, several people told her that they could no longer watch the games.
Prior to this year's Olympics, the International Olympic Committee reversed a previous rule that forbid athletes from participating in political protests. Americans did not hesitate to take advantage of Rule 50 not being enforced.
The U.S. women's soccer team took a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter ahead of their first Olympic match last week.
The Olympics Opening Ceremony in Tokyo saw the lowest ratings in 33 years with just 16.7 million viewers, a 37 percent drop from the 2016 ceremony.
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