In the past few days, a video has been circulating on social media and has touched internet users. The video shows a young black girl being the only one in her gymnastics team to not receive a medal during a competition in Ireland, which took place over a year ago.
The Irish Gymnastics Federation is at the center of controversy and is facing a wave of outrage on social media. The reason? A video has been widely shared in recent days showing a young black girl being completely ignored during an award ceremony. She is the only one from her gymnastics team who did not receive a medal.
Welcome to Ireland where people get away with racism! This little black girl broke my heart. Don’t skip this post without leaving a million heart for her. Make her famous… pic.twitter.com/YYMIP1IALZ
— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) September 22, 2023
If the events date back to March 2022 following a competition in Dublin, it has recently resurfaced as the young girl received written apologies from the Irish Gymnastics Federation on Saturday, September 23, more than a year after the incidents. The parents of the girl had alleged racist behavior from one of the officials.
The matter is deemed to be « considered resolved ».
The Irish media outlet, Irish Times, reports that the Irish federation stated that they « immediately contacted » the parents of the young girl upon receiving the complaint, « as well as engaging in immediate dialogue with the person responsible. » After mediation and discussions between all parties, a resolution was agreed upon by both sides and the matter was « considered resolved. »
When this video was going around, her parents contacted me. It saddened me to witness, so I sent her a small video.
Racism has no place in any sport or in society as a whole!
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 23, 2023
In recent days, the video, which has been viewed millions of times, has circulated on social media and touched the general public. Internet users expressed their outrage about X: « This woman should be fired immediately, » « It’s so sad. I would be appalled. There is no excuse for missing this child »… Athletes have also reacted. American four-time Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles assured, « It broke my heart to see, so I sent her a little video. There is no place for racism in any sport or anywhere at all. » Her American teammate Jordan Chiles, an Olympic silver medalist, described the incident as « more than hurtful in many ways. »
Comments are closed.