In November 1976, DeFrantz voted for Jimmy Carter. By 1980, she wanted a mulligan.
She had just trained another three-plus years to earn a spot on the 1980 Olympic rowing team — until Carter announced the U.S. would be boycotting the Moscow Games to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Other Olympic athletes groaned and threw up their hands in disgust; DeFrantz actually did something about it. She demanded a meeting with Carter. She wasn’t going to stop until she got it. She warned her parents the DeFrantz name was going to be dragged through the mud in the coming months, that she would be “standing up to suppress” the president of the United States. She told her folks if they wanted her to end her crusade, tell her now. They answered: Go get ’em. “I didn’t mind killing my career,” she said. She had ideas for Carter. She said the ’80 team could just boycott Moscow’s opening ceremony to send a message. Or they could have just one person walk in carrying the U.S. flag. Or, like the European countries, they could enter solemnly under the Olympic flag “so the president wouldn’t be embarrassed.” *** READ MORE at the Sports Business Journal: https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2022/09/12/Champions/Anita-DeFrantz.aspx
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Women's history month - a celebration of the contributions of girls and women to the development of society, and to our shared history. I honor all of the women who came before me, and will come after me, for all of their important achievements and victories for the human race. Here's to the women in our families, among our friends, and in the workplace; and here's to the men that love them and support them too.
- Anita *** About Women's History Month: Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women's Day on March 8, and during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of Persons Day on October 18. The commemoration began in 1978 as "Women's History day" in Sonoma County, California, and was championed by Gerda Lerner and the National Women's History Alliance to be recognized as a national week (1980) and then month (1987) in the United States, spreading internationally after that. I am honored to work with the leaders and educators of WomenX - and grateful to have been featured in their 2023 WomenX Women’s History Calendar. I'd like to thank Ms. Tiffany Bullock of WomenX, and also the incredibly talented artist and illustrator, Mia Saine for this opportunity.
For more information about Tiffany and WomenX, please visit her on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-bullock-19739618/ Also, be sure to stop by Mia's portfolio for more examples of her artwork: https://www.agoodson.com/portfolios/mia-saine/ - Anita |
AuthorOfficial blog of author, athlete, and IOC official, Ms. Anita DeFrantz. Archives
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