Three-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist track and field athlete Gabby Thomas reported Sunday on X: “there are hundreds of people commenting on my Twitter page that specifically because I am black, they must assume I did not earn my admission into Harvard nor did I earn my diploma. Is this real life??”
Thomas studied neurobiology and global health at Harvard University before launching her professional track career in 2018. She also earned a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.
All hail the queen of Paris 2024
Happy 28th birthday to triple Olympic gold medallist @itsgabbyt
pic.twitter.com/zrSeXlTsdK
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 7, 2024
Note: In September, the percentage of Black first-year undergraduate students at Harvard dropped from 18% to 14% after last year’s Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action in college admissions.
Today, on Jan 26, 2025, there are hundreds of people commenting on my Twitter page that specifically because I am black, they must assume I did not earn my admission into Harvard nor did I earn my diploma. Is this real life??
— Gabby Thomas (@itsgabbyt) January 27, 2025
Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams replied: “Gabby- I got one B (and the rest all A’s) in high school and college. Then med school and masters in public health at Berkeley (straight A’s), and then ran the Indiana State Dept of Health. But apparently I was a ‘DEI hire’ as surgeon general. Sadly, this is real life…”
Note: Adams is currently executive director of health equity initiatives at Purdue University.
Gabby- I got one B (and the rest all A’s) in high school and college. Then med school and masters in public health at Berkeley (straight A’s), and then ran the Indiana State Dept of Health. But apparently I was a “DEI hire” as surgeon general. Sadly, this is real life…
— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) January 27, 2025
Harvard Law graduate and former NBA player Len Elmore replied to Thomas with advice: “Giving oxygen to keep alive the racism, envy and jealousy of those who doubt you simply rewards their hatred. Ignoring them denies their prize. People of goodwill respect/celebrate your earned accomplishments in the classroom, on the track and in healthcare. THEY matter…”
Giving oxygen to keep alive the racism, envy and jealousy of those who doubt you simply rewards their hatred. Ignoring them denies their prize. People of goodwill respect/celebrate your earned accomplishments in the classroom, on the track and in healthcare. THEY matter…
Elmore teaches Seminar in Sports Media and Athlete Activism and Social Justice in Columbia University’s Master of Science Program in Sports Management and is a commissioner on the Knight Commission for Intercollegiate Athletics, where he chairs the Racial Equity Task Force.
Get ready to see more of Thomas: In November, she signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson-founded Grand Slam Track. The first season will run from April to September 2025.