Yesterday, Fox News published a column from executive vice president/excecutive editor John Moody that was met with immediate backlash. In it, Moody went on a rant against the state of the American Olympic team, claiming the USOC has some sort of quota system for minority and LGBTQ athletes.
A selection:
Unless it’s changed overnight, the motto of the Olympics, since 1894, has been “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” It appears the U.S. Olympic Committee would like to change that to “Darker, Gayer, Different.” If your goal is to win medals, that won’t work.
A USOC official was quoted this week expressing pride (what else?) about taking the most diverse U.S. squad ever to the Winter Olympics. That was followed by a, frankly, embarrassing laundry list of how many African-Americans, Asians and openly gay athletes are on this year’s U.S. team. No sport that we are aware of awards points – or medals – for skin color or sexual orientation.
In Moody’s world, there are a whole lot of more deserving straight white athletes sitting at home right now, which is hilarious. (Especially for the Winter Olympics, which can sometimes be less-than-diverse fare.)
Today, Fox News has pulled that column.
According to a statement from a Fox News spokesperson:
“John Moody’s column does not reflect the views or values of FOX News and has been removed.”
Apparently going after the Olympics is a step too far for Fox News.
