I’ll take weed over disrespect.

Several American Olympic athletes have shown a total disrespect for the very country they are attempting to represent while another is being held out of the Olympics because of a failed drug test which involved marijuana.

Doesn’t that seem out of whack? I certainly know that the sentiment of the country surrounding the use of marijuana is now different than it was years ago with many states making it legal and others offering the use of medical marijuana, but the sentiment hasn’t changed, at least for me, on athletes not showing respect for this country.

I believe every American has the right to peacefully protest, but it also should come at a cost and not be done without repercussions. We have the right to free speech, but it is also illegal to yell “Fire!” in a crowded room. So, Miss Third Place, you want to protest against the country that has supported your training and allowed you to reach the heights you have achieved?

Fine. Pack your bags. We are not going to give you another platform to spread your ill-conceived, misled propaganda.

Apparently, the U.S. Olympic Committee has bent over backwards placating the athletes who have wanted to protest by playing the national anthem only once per day instead of during every medal ceremony. They have also allowed athletes the ability to protest as they see fit, saying they wanted the athletes to feel their concerns were being listened to. The U.S. Committee also said they did that in part because its against the rules in the Olympics to protest or demonstrate and they wanted the athletes to have their chance.

What? So, it’s ok for the athletes to disgrace themselves by protesting against the country in which they reside and you feel confident they won’t do something even more heinous in a foreign country? That’s just idiotic.

This current generation, not all mind you, but a good many, have grown up with no repercussions for their actions and therefore don’t understand what it is they are doing whether right or wrong.

The powers that have been given to a few to act like idiots is ridiculous, while the real winners, the ones who have taken the podium, stood up for the national anthem and placed their hands over their hearts are diminished?

Not in my America and I’m pretty sure there are plenty of others that agree.

Meanwhile one of the fastest women alive and America’s top sprinter has been barred from the Olympics because of a failed drug test where she was noted to have used marijuana. She admitted she had smoked in the state of Oregon, where it’s legal and it was to cope with the loss of her mother. Right now, millions of Americans use some sort of marijuana to help ease pain and discomfort, and more and more countries are following the lead. Yet, the Olympic rules mean she is barred for 30 days. Not only has the U.S. Olympic Committee not gone to bat for the sprinter, they also did not select her for the 4X100 relay which she would have been allowed to compete in because it would be after her 30-day suspension.

So, again, what is our country saying?

You can turn your back on the flag, cover your face and chest with slogans demeaning the very country you live under the rights of freedom, but we will punish you if you smoke weed even though 18 states have made it legal for people over 21 and 37 others have given medical marijuana their approval.

Something’s not right here and it stinks. I question the U.S. Committee in how they are running things and I also question their motives for how they have treated some athletes, good and bad. I also question where the committee is getting its guidance and the politics involved.

I’m pretty sure I know the answer and if you have read this column this far, I’m pretty sure you do too.

If you see me say, “Hey!”

Dee McLelland is Publisher of the Coastal Courier and the Bryan County News.