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‘God Spoke Through Me’: Patriotic Olympic Medalist Explains Pro-America Comments

  Olympic gold medalist Tamrya Mensah-Stock said that her post-win display of patriotism, which went viral almost immediately, was divinely ...

 Olympic gold medalist Tamrya Mensah-Stock said that her post-win display of patriotism, which went viral almost immediately, was divinely inspired, and that she “definitely” would not want to live anywhere other than the United States.

Mensah-Stock won a gold medal in women’s wrestling — the second-ever wrestling gold awarded to a woman from the United States and the first to a black woman. After winning, she did an off-the-cuff interview wrapped in the American flag she held while she stood on the medal podium.

I love representing the U.S. I freaking love living there,” Mensah-Stock told reporters.

The moment — and Mensah-Stock — stood in stark contrast to Olympic headlines, which acknowledged that a number of American athletes, representing Team USA, planned on protesting for racial equality and other social justice issues while competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The Team USA women’s soccer team took a knee ahead of their first match with Sweden in solidarity with advocates for racial justice, and shot-putter Raven Saunders displayed an “X” with her arms while receiving her own medal in solidarity with the global “oppressed.”

It is also possible that NBC’s dismal Olympic ratings — nearly 50% down from the 2016 Games in Rio — are the result of a lack of enthusiasm for the Summer Games, driven in part by the possibility of American athlete protests.

Mensah-Stock, who is the child of an immigrant, spoke highly of her home country and explained to Fox & Friends that she felt inspired by God to express gratitude.

“That specific moment when he asked me that I felt like, I went into a trance and God just spoke through me, and I was like, ‘All right, look directly at the camera and just go,’’ she told the hosts, adding that she felt her words could help stem the negativity that had dogged the games.

“I know there’s a lot of negativity going on, and I just want to enlighten people of my feelings to spread positivity, and it happened,” she said.

She later added that she remains pleased with what she said — and also grateful to have represented the United States.

“I was born here,” Mensah-Stock said. “My dad is an immigrant from Ghana where he met my mom. I grew up in Texas. It’s the only place I know, and I have traveled all over the world and I definitely wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I prefer here. Japan was beautiful, here is better.”

Mensah-Stock said, during a separate post-win interview, that she plans to use the winnings she receives as an American Olympic medalist — just a bit less than $40,000 — to help her mother buy a food truck.

“She’s always doing back-breaking work and — I’ve just seen her struggling ever since my dad died and I don’t like seeing it,” she told reporters.  “I made a promise to her and she loves cooking. It’s just one of her passions. Growing up, we’d be like, ‘Ooh, mommy, you put your back into this food. Like you literally put your foot in it.'”

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