A video capturing a remarkable incident has gone viral, showing a young Black gymnast being denied a medal while her white counterparts receive one. This incident has sparked outrage and prompted an apology from Gymnastics Ireland. The video, which was taken at a meet in Dublin in March 2022, shows a woman with a bunch of medals draping a medal around each gymnast’s neck as she makes her way down the line. However, when she reaches the Black gymnast, she struggles with the medals and ends up giving the medal meant for the Black gymnast to a white gymnast instead.
As the neglected gymnast watches in confusion, the woman continues down the line. The incident gained widespread attention after a version of the video on the X platform accumulated over 50 million views. Gymnastics Ireland has since issued an apology, acknowledging the racial bias in the incident. They stated that the girl did eventually receive her medal after the ceremony, and the official responsible expressed deep regret for the “honest error.”
However, witnesses claim that CEO Una May of Sport Ireland dismissed the incident as a mere mix-up, insisting that the official had gotten the medals tangled up. Gymnastics Ireland, on the other hand, revealed that a complaint had been filed by the parents of the girls involved, accusing the official of racist behavior. Although the group claims the situation was resolved through mediation, the girl’s mother disputes this and demands a public apology from Gymnastics Ireland.
The girl’s mother has taken the case to Switzerland’s Gymnastics Ethics Foundation. Notably, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has expressed her support for the shunned gymnast. Biles, upon seeing the circulating video, reached out to the girl’s parents and sent her a heartfelt message. Biles emphasized that racism has no place in any sport. In response to the incident, Gymnastics Ireland has appointed an external expert to review its policies to prevent such incidents from happening again.
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