by The Wall Street Journal ran a story this weekend entitled, “The Stigmatized Olympians“. It was about the success of American shooters in the Olympics and the reluctance of some Americans to celebrate their accomplishments. American shooters have won more gold medals for the United States than in any other sport with the exceptions of swimming and track-and-field.
A good part of the story was about five time Olympic medalist Kim Rhode who is seeking to qualify for her sixth Olympics. Kim points out how the mainstream media treats competitive shooters and the shooting sports differently than other sports.
“Our sport has an unfortunate stigma attached to it,” says Rhode, a 36-year-old Southern Californian. Following December’s deadly shooting rampage in nearby San Bernardino, the media sought out comment from Rhode, who expressed sorrow for the victims and support for gun rights. Why should that crime have placed her in the spotlight? she asks: “You don’t hear them asking Nascar drivers to comment on crimes involving cars.”
Nor, I might add, do you see lawsuits brought against GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and all the other automakers when a drunk driver runs into a school bus and kills children. Contrast that with the grasping at straws lawsuit against Remington Outdoor Company brought against them for making the AR-15 stolen by the killer in Newtown.