I get where the official that barred her was coming from if the rules say that you can’t have a political statement on your uniform. The Black Lives Matter movement is definately political as they try to lower the number of shootings of black people by white police officers. However, had I been the official, I would have probably asked officials running the meet about it first.
All this could have been avoided had the officials been asked. The YMCA would have told the person who attempted to bar her that her suit was within the rules, and that would have been the end of it. The girl wouldn’t have even known that her suit had been in question.
As for the rules of USA Swimming saying that there’s a policy of no political language on the swim suits, they need to better clarify the rule. In my mind, though I support it, Black Lives Matter IS political and should not be allowed on her suit. What if her suit had said “Make America Great Again”, or Biden’s “Build Back Better”? All three statements kinda have the same power.
I applaud the girl for her support of the matter. But rules are rules. And unfortunately I’m going to have to go with the original official on this one.
A Little Bit of This and That 