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"Shin Splints"
A Blog by Doug Logan

Flags of our Fathers

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

In the fall of 1993 I was the CEO of the major concert promotion company in Mexico City. We booked two dates of Madonna's international tour, and both dates promptly sold out in our 50,000 seat outdoor venue, the Foro Sol. Madonna, whose business acumen and promotional genius is as good as I have seen, had produced a show that reeked with sexuality, both subtle and overt. The show opened with a naked woman descending from the stage truss and at one point in the performance, Madonna would use the local national flag as a prop, and rub her body suggestively with it, usually to the roar of her fans in the audience.

The Mexican authorities got wind of this display and sent a delegation to Buenos Aires to preview the show prior to its stop in Mexico. They informed me, as the show's promoter, that if she "desecrated" their revered "tricolor" that both she and I would get thrown in a Mexican jail. They explained that they would have six armed soldiers in the audience to enforce this edict. Needless to say, the performance was truncated to accommodate the order and, in fact, on the two occasions that Mexican flags were thrown on stage, Madonna danced away from them and stagehands quickly scurried out to retrieve them.

A pretty effective way to enforce respect for their flag!

Fast forward to 2008. I have received scores of emails from fans, former athletes, coaches and the general public offering their opinions about our athletes, our successes and our failures at the Beijing Olympic Games. The passion and dedication of the people who have taken the time to write is evident, and I am appreciative of the input. One group of writers seemed to be particularly angered by what they felt was disrespect for our flag on the part of U.S. athletes during victory laps or on the medal podium. Many decried the fact that during medal ceremonies, some athletes did not put their hands over their hearts or that many did not sing the national anthem. Writing about one of the relay teams, one fan said his World War II father wanted to "kick their spoiled butts" for not putting their hands over their hearts. Shades of Mexico!

I have been asked about my views, as a combat veteran, about the patriotism, or lack thereof, by this current generation. I must admit I am more than a bit conflicted. I treat my personal love of country in a serious manner. Many of you have seen that I frequently wear a miniature replica of one of my Bronze Star ribbons on my suit lapel. I was delighted that a recent act of Congress now authorizes the hand salute during the anthem for veterans like me, and am proud of this right. I still get choked up and tear up during poignant patriotic ceremonies.

However, I recognize that the world and the culture have changed. And, it is not necessarily limited to the younger generation. I frequently drive past car dealerships that sport huge garrison flags, day or night, counter to the dawn to dusk respect for showing the colors. I see women and men on the 4th of July festooned in blouses and polos that are actual displays of the flag. I am a huge fan of the painter Jasper Johns who has used an altered American flag in a famous series of his work. And, who among us has not seen a long distance runner in a 5K or 10K wearing a small American flag as a bandanna/sweat band?

None of the aforementioned intends any disrespect. Their intent is actually the opposite. All are celebrating their love of country in their own fashion. And, we happen to live in a nation where we accommodate those individual expressions in an atmosphere of freedom. Much of what I have described is protected Free Speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution. And it is those very freedoms that I, and others, have fought to protect.

And, the same goes for our athletes. There have been instances in the past where athletes have taken too great a liberty with the flag, and as a result, USATF has worked to ensure proper display of the flag, not letting it touch the ground and generally being respectful. However, there are certain liberties that even the best intentioned Eagle Scout athlete would take while under the adrenaline rush of winning a gold medal. They are celebrating WITH the flag, not at the expense of it.

I also believe the intrusion of the television camera frequently causes the viewer to micro-interpret facial expressions and actions in the heat of the drama. A smile of accomplishment gets interpreted as a smirk; a joyful wave of a flag gets scrutinized for proper placement of the blue field; a moment of speechlessness gets judged as petulance for not singing.

I saw nothing from our athletes' expression of patriotism in Beijing that caused me alarm, and rest assured that we will continue to proactively work with athletes on these sorts of topics. My simple exhortation: cut these young men and women some slack! They work very hard to represent us all and they are showing their respect, and celebrating their achievements, for our country in their own way.

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Doug Logan is the CEO of USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the organization has more than 90,000 members throughout the country.