Why are there no African Americans on the USA gymnastics team?
Because they didn’t have the scores necessary to qualify, and/or have an event specialty that the team needed more depth on. While Sean Golden did have the highest score on vault and floor (which he kind of got by default), he was probably passed up because vault and floor are not events that the U.S. team lacks depth on (especially when both Hamm twins are healthy), and Golden’s other events and potential contribution to the team were not as strong as the gymnasts that were chosen. It has nothing to do with the fact that he’s black. What I find more surprising is that Sasha Artemev wasn’t chosen (although he is an alternate), because even though he is terribly inconsistent, he is still the best American on the pommel horse (and a world bronze medalist in 2006), which is an event the U.S. team is extremely defficient on. I have a bad feeling that the decision not to have Artemev on the team will end up costing the U.S. at the Olympics.
