George Foreman has given his hot take on athlete activism.
Speaking on a segment with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity earlier this week, the 72-year-old former boxing champion insisted that modern sporting events risked becoming too politicized to draw crowds.
Per HuffPost, the retired athlete seemed to express a belief that past acts of protest against the status quo had led to the terrorist attacks at the Munich Olympics in 1972, stating:
"No good has ever come out of it. I remember John Carlos and Tommie Smith. I don’t know how dedicated they were, but they put on a demonstration that’s still talked about.
"It was so great that the world saw it and they went down to Germany and killed those kids representing Israel."
He added: "That’s what demonstration will get you. It shouldn’t be in sports - should take it out. Let us go over there and have a good time and stay out of politics because it’s a dangerous thing."
A number of social media users have since reacted to Foreman's statement.
One person wrote: "I don’t understand what he’s talking about."
Another added: "Telling about the issues that Black Americans face in this country daily is not turning their back on America.
"Bringing to light police brutality in the Black community is not turning your back on America."
A third then wrote: "He named 5 of his kids after himself. That pretty much ends my interest in anything he has to say intellectually. [sic]"
While another added: "Says the guy who got his clock cleaned by the most politically iconic sports figure ever to walk the earth."
Foreman famously won a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics the same year that Tommie Smith and John Carlos made black power gestures on the podium.
His statement comes after track and field runner Gwen Berry provoked outrage at her recent trial for the Olympic games when she appeared to turn away from the American flag during a rendition of the national anthem.
Berry's act was condemned by a number of critics, including Caitlyn Jenner and Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw.
