Hannity blasts US Olympic Committee's potential American flag redesign
'Hannity' host Sean Hannity sounds off on reported star-spangled alteration
EXCLUSIVE: In his monologue on Monday, "Hannity" host Sean Hannity blasted the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) over a new plan to redesign the American flag on its logo, and replace the 50 stars with 5 new stars, and alter the portrayal of the stripes.
On July 6, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee asked US Olympians and Paralympian associations to fill out an online survey. One of the items in the survey is a proposed change to the Stars & Stripes to be used in USOPC materials, Hannity reported.
The committee told "Hannity" there will be no changes to the U.S. flag icon for the Japanese or Chinese Olympiads in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
In his monologue, Hannity called for the USOC to relent, and more importantly remember that the current United States flag represents every American and every American olympian.
"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."
All of those Olympians, he said, represent the United States of America – and its beloved Star-Spangled Banner.
"And, we already have our flag," he added.
Kate Hartman, a spokesperson for USOC, told Fox News the committee is 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 to Fox News.
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"It is common practice in creative development to share a variety of concepts with stakeholders to [elicit] reaction and feedback that will then be used to determine next steps. What has been sent to you is just one of dozens of ideas shared in this brainstorming and surveying process."
Hours after Hannity's report, the USOC put out a statement to Fox News underlining that the "image featured [on Monday's 'Hannity'] was one of many concepts being brainstormed as part of a branding logo update for the USOPC."
"We want to be clear that we love our country and respect the American flag. We do not have any intention, not to mention the authority, to change our country’s flag that flies above the podium when a member of Team USA achieves Olympic or Paralympic greatness," the statement concluded.
An example of the potential alteration can be seen in the image below, courtesy of the USOPC/USOC.
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