US Olympic Committee considers changing American flag on its Paris 2024 logo: Sean Hannity blasts redesign as a 'waste of time' amid Gwen Berry Stars and Stripes-snub controversy
The United States Olympic Committee is considering redesigning the American flag on its logo to include just five stars and five stripes.
The redesign would replace an existing logo which has the full 13 red and white stripes, but just 13 stars.
The logo would also change the layout of the stripes on the flag.
The changes, if brought in, would come into effect for the Paris 2024 Olympics. It would not be changed for the Tokyo Olympics this year or the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing.
But Fox News host Sean Hannity, who first reported on the changes, slammed it as 'an awful idea'.
The redesign comes amid controversy over 'activist athletes' like hammer thrower Gwen Berry turning their backs on the flag at sporting events.
NEW LOGO: The United States Olympic Committee is considering redesigning the American flag on its logo to include just five stars and fewer stripes
CURRENT LOGO: The changes, if brought in, would come into effect for the Paris 2024 Olympics. It would not be changed for the Tokyo Olympics this year or the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee first addressed the potential changes when they asked Olympians and Paralympian associations on July 6 to fill out an online survey.
One of the items in the survey was a proposed change to the Stars & Stripes that will be used in USOPC materials.
Kate Hartman, a spokesperson for USOC, said the committee is only in the early design stages and is brainstorming a variety of concepts with the stakeholders.
'We are in the very early stages of potentially exploring new brand executions for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee,' the committee said in a statement.
'It is common practice in creative development to share a variety of concepts with stakeholders to reaction and feedback that will then be used to determine next steps.'
The committee said the logo with the flag chance is just one of dozens shared throughout the brainstorming and surveying process.
Hannity was quick to slam the potential redesign, saying during his Monday night monologue: 'We already have our flag.'
'Here is my message – stop wasting your team's time and money with a redesign of the American flag - it's an awful idea,' he said.
'Our Stars & Stripes should be the only flag representing our country at the Olympics and the Paralympics - there are so many amazing athletes and champions we are all so proud of.'
Fox host Sean Hannity, who first reported on the changes, slammed it as 'an awful idea'
The reaction on Twitter was swift with a number of people agreeing the flag should appear differently on the logo.
Debate about the meaning of the US flag has made headlines of late following hammer thrower Gwen Berry's protest during the Olympic trials in Oregon last month.
Berry turned her back earlier this month when the national anthem was being played after her Olympic qualifier.
Toward the end of the anthem, Berry picked up a black T-shirt with the words 'Activist Athlete' emblazoned on the front, and draped it over her head.
She later defended her protest, saying she was 'tricked' into being there at that moment, and was enraged and confused, insisting the anthem did not represent her - but that she still loves the United States.
On Twitter, she said: 'I never said I hated this country! People try to put words in my mouth but they can't. That's why I speak out. I LOVE MY PEOPLE.
'These comments really show that: 1.) people in American rally patriotism over basic morality. 2.) Even after the murder of George Floyd and so many others; the commercials, statements, and phony sentiments regarding black lives were just a hoax.'
Berry has also previously said the national anthem 'doesn't speak for me'.
Debate about the meaning of the US flag has made headlines of late following hammer thrower Gwen Berry's protest during the Olympic trials in Oregon last month