OLYMPIC ATHLETICS LEGEND Carl Lewis argued for equal pay in sport this week, while also slamming US President Donald Trump as a “racist and a misogynist.”
The nine-time US Olympic gold medalist was attending the Pan American Games at the invitation of Lima organizers, when he offered an opinion on gender equality in sport which included a scathing reference to Trump.
We have a president who is racist and a misogynist, who doesn’t value anybody but himself,” he said.
“If I didn’t have a strong woman in my life, I wouldn’t be sitting here today. My mother was a pioneer. My parents were teachers and they taught us that everyone deserves the same opportunities.”
Lewis also offered his support to the USWNT, who filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the US Soccer Federation. The World Cup champions allege discrimination in relation to equal pay compared with the USA men’s team.
Of course I’m for (equal pay),” he said. “We shouldn’t even be talking about it. We have to fight for people’s rights and love each other.
“The reality is that there’s a lot of prejudice, and a lot of prejudice is fear. We’re afraid to give the same opportunity because it gives us a leg up … the reality is that it’s no different than another athlete on another team. So, yes, I support that.”
The 58-year-old Lewis won Olympic gold medals in the long jump at four straight Games: 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996.
He completed a sprint treble with 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold at the 1984 Olympics, and also won the 100m in 1988 and 4x100m relay gold in 1992.
He will be in Lima until Sunday, when the Pan American Games athletics competition ends, and will present the 100m and long jump medals.
Additional reporting by Sinéad Farrell
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