Olympic athlete explains his public support for Meek Mill

Last week Slovenian snowboarder Tit Stante shared a message with the world while cameras were on him during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games: #FreeMeekMill.

While participating in the Games’ qualifying halfpipe round, Stante showed off his snowboard, on which he had written the hashtag supporting the Philadelphia-native rapper.

Though Stante, 19, placed 25th in the qualifying round and did not qualify for the competition, his message garnered attention. Pitchfork reached out to Stante to get more background on the choice.

“I really started listening to his music after he first came out of jail and released ‘Dreams Worth More Than Money,’” Stante told Pitchfork

“There were a lot of things going through my head before writing that on my board. Firstly, I wanted to show that Meek has support from the whole world, not just the U.S. And I wanted to point out that the U.S. justice system has a lot of flaws, and in my opinion, the case of Meek is one of them.”

Stante’s comments come just after a hearing for Mill was announced for Monday, April 16. Last week, around the time of Stante’s qualifying round, a list by the District Attorney’s office was reported to include the cop who arrested Mill in 2007, Reginald V. Graham, as guilty of a pattern reflecting racial bias and brutality.

Catch up on PhillyVoice’s full Meek Mill coverage here.