Snowboarder Shaun White drags American flag on ground after winning gold medal, riling patriots on social media

Some were aggravated by the champion snowboarder's flag etiquette after winning an Olympic gold medal Tuesday.|
PRESS DEMOCRAT STAFF
PRESS DEMOCRAT STAFF

Snowboarder Shaun White's form was near-perfect in the halfpipe Tuesday. But his celebratory moves after winning a third career Olympic gold medal were judged more harshly by patriotic Americans on social media.

White grabbed and carried a United States flag through the Pyeongchang crowd, but let the flag drape across the ground as he walked. Some critics said this was a careless and disrespectful move by the California native.

Here's a video clip of the moment shared on Twitter:

Some Americans were less than impressed with White's flag etiquette.

Others called for Twitter critics to cut the guy some slack.

White later apologized for the incident, telling reporters he "definitely didn't mean any disrespect" with his flag handling.

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