Dutch Speed Skater Sjinkie Knegt Is Catching Heat For Kinda, Almost Giving The Middle Finger On The Medal Stand After Winning The Silver
NYP- Give this guy the gold for unsportsmanlike conduct. Dutch short-track speed skater Sjinkie Knegt sparked controversy after he appeared to flip the bird when he came in second place during an Olympic event Saturday. It’s the second time he’s been accused of making the one-finger salute after a competitor bested him.
Photos show Knegt posing with South Korean gold medalist Lim Hyo-jun — who edged him out in the men’s 1,500-meter final by just .07 seconds — and Russian bronze medalist Semion Andreyevich Elistratov following the race. Knegt is gripping a plush toy of PyeongChang Olympics mascot Soohorang in his right hand, but his middle finger is extended straight out — even though all his other fingers are holding the toy tiger. He claimed during a medal ceremony Sunday that the gesture was “not intended.”
“I just looked very bad in the photo, but it was not on purpose. I was just holding the medal,” he said, according to the Korea Times.
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Oh give me a break. Look, I have not idea if Sjinkie Knegt was secretly flipping the bird while placing 2nd in an event he worked his whole life toward. The only people that know the answer to that are Sjinkie and his God. I am just here to say that he is a fucking IDIOT for not making that middle finger gesture more obvious in the picture. Yeah the fallout would have been crazy for a bit, especially doing it to a South Korean in his own damn country. But Knegt has been the middle finger guy in speed skating since he did this four years ago.
If people are going to stare at Knegt’s middle fingers to see what they do every single second, he should just stick them in everyone’s fucking eyeballs. I’m not sure how long speed skating careers last, but they can’t be forever. Carving out a little niche for yourself as the bad boy of speed skating in order to stand out from everyone else skating in circles for hours isn’t the worst idea in the world. The Winter Olympics and speed skating in particulare can always use a little extra juice to boost the ratings. You know Hollywood loves controversy because Tonya Harding was just played by Margot Robbie 14 years after Nancy Kerrigan’s leg got YABO’d. Happy Gilmore landed Subway deals after turning the golf world upside down. And Pete Weber even made bowling must watch TV.
P…D…Dubya is the fucking GAWD.
Anyway, if you are reading this Sjinkie, and I know you are, don’t be afraid to go full Stone Cold and let those birds fly the next time you fall short on the rink. An entire generation that has spent years rooting for anti-heroes like Tony Soprano and Heisenberg are ready to root for you as long as none of the people repping their country have a chance to win that event.