In the Proud Tradition of American Patriots Defying Tyranny, Jordan Chiles is Refusing to Return Her Medal to the IOC

Christina Pahnke - sampics. Getty Images.

If there's one phrase that sums up this Great American Experiment more than any other, it's the one that was quill-penned at the very moment our nation exited Great Britain's birth canal. It is our founding principle. "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." And when that consent has not been given, it's every American's duty to themselves and to their fellow citizens to become ungovernable. 

We are, after all, a nation of ingrates and tax evaders, who let a king spend blood and treasure to win a war on American soil, then rebelled when he expected us to help pick up the tab. Because we don't much appreciate Europeans telling us what to do. Even when they have a legitimate point. 

Well when it comes to corrupt European despots, they don't come any more tyrannical than the oligarchs from the International Olympic Committee who are demanding Jordan Chiles give her bronze medal in the Floor Exercises over to Ana Barbosu. Despite the minor detail that Chiles performed better and scored higher:

And who then went ahead and awarded Barbosu the medal she did not in fact earn:

An "unjust" "significant blow," indeed. But I'm proud to report to you, my fellow countrymen, that our queen is still refusing to bend the knee to some foreign entity across the sea:

Source - American Jordan Chiles is in the United States and still has possession of the bronze medal that was awarded to her in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics, two people with knowledge of the situation who did not want to be identified have told USA TODAY Sports. 

There are no plans for Chiles to give the bronze medal back as U.S. officials say they plan to appeal what the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee said were “significant procedural errors” by [Court of Arbitration for Sport]. That appeal would presumably go to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

The USOPC said in a statement Wednesday night that from August 6-9, “CAS sent crucial communications to erroneous email addresses at USOPC and USAG (USA Gymnastics), an error not corrected until August 9—three days after filing, two days past the deadline to submit objections, and less than 24 hours before the hearing. This deprived us of adequate time to respond meaningfully or gather necessary evidence. We informed CAS of our objections immediately.”

Since then, U.S. officials produced a time-stamped video showing the U.S. appeal of Chiles’ score was filed 47 seconds after her score was given, within the one-minute deadline — not four seconds after the deadline as was presented at the CAS hearing.  CAS said it could not re-open the case despite the conclusive video evidence that showed Chiles in fact did deserve the bronze medal. "Our objections have since been validated by new evidence indicating administrative errors by FIG and mishandlings by CAS, which would have been impossible to raise at the time of the rushed hearing. In short, we were denied a meaningful opportunity to be heard,” the USOPC said.

Imagine the presumptuousness of these kleptocrats. They screw up the judging. Lie about how soon Team USA protested the scoring. Intentionally send emails to falsified addresses. Then protest their innocence while trying to pin the blame on the Americans. Then after all that, expect Chiles to just hand the medal she legitimately won over to some 4th place finisher. To make one last historical analogy, King George's tax collectors weren't this arrogant. And they literally got tarred and feathered for trying to do their jobs. These supercilious twats deserve nothing less. 

And yeah, good luck with that, IOC. Jordan Chiles earned that bronze, and is not going to hand it over willingly. If you want it, come and claim it:

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And since there are only two better women at the floor exercises than her in the entire world and they're both her teammates, you'll never be able to catch her. She'll backflip, somersault and tumble run whomever you send after her into oblivion. Just like she did Ana Barbosu. And make us all even prouder to call her a great American.