BMX rider Chelsea Wolfe, who qualified to be an alternate in the U.S. team for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, expressed her desire last year to get onto the medal podium so she could burn the American flag.
Fox News reported on Monday Wolfe posted her promise on Facebook, which has since been deleted, in response to a news article from Pink News about the Trump administration believing "trans girls should be treated as 'biological males' when playing sports at school."
"My goal is to win the Olympics so I can burn a US flag on the podium. This is what they focus on during a pandemic. Hurting trans children," Wolfe wrote.
When reached for comment, Wolfe walked back the comment and said she is against fascism.
"Anyone who thinks that I don't care about the United States is sorely mistaken," Wolfe said in a statement to Fox News. "One of the reasons why I work so hard to represent the United States in international competition is to show the world that this country has morals and values, that it's not all of the bad things that we're known for. I take a stand against fascism because I care about this country and I'm not going to let it fall into the hands of fascists after so many people have fought and sacrificed to prevent fascism from taking hold abroad. As a citizen who wants to be proud of my home country, I'm sure as hell not going to let it take hold here."
In response to Wolfe's promise, former captain of the 1980 United States Men’s Olympic Hockey team Mike Eruzione told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday it is an ultimate honor to represent the United States on the world stage.
"Clearly, I respect everyone's opinion and right to do whatever you want to do, but to burn an American flag, to do it at the Olympic Games —I mean, that's — I couldn't believe it. I honestly could not believe that somebody would even possibly think of doing something like that. Go to our servicemen and women and go tell them what you're thinking of doing," Eruzione said.