Teddy Riner Alleges Being Victim Of Racism At Paris Bar

Teddy Riner, an Olympic gold medalist, has taken to Facebook to let out his steam over allegedly being a victim to racism at Buddha Bar in Paris, France. The French martial arts expert described in a post how he left his table at the bar to get a closer glimpse of a Brazilian-themed performance before being grabbed “firmly” by the waitress who asked for his credit card.

Riner explained that he was the only person given such treatment and went on to blame the incident on racism by saying, “Never go to Buddha-bar if you’re BLACK!!!!”

The 24-year-old has over 400,000 followers on Facebook, and over 700 of them commented on his post that landed over 3,500 likes. He went on to make two more posts about the incident that you can see here.

Laurent Goyet, the Buddha Bar’s spokesman, denied on Sunday any thought of racism being involved, but he did make it known that the waitress was fired for grabbing Riner’s arm inappropriately, according the The Associated Press.

Teddy Riner is a five-time judoka world champion, so grabbing him by the arm probably wasn’t the best way to make a statement, though the purpose behind the incident is still unknown. Outside of winning five gold medals at the world championships, the Frenchman has also won gold three times at the European Championships.

Currently a member of the Levallois Sporting Club in Levallois-Perret, France, Riner took home the gold at the London Olympics in 2012 after finishing with a bronze medal in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics.

In total, he’s won nine gold medals since 2007, making him one of the most powerful judo specialists in the world.

To bring about an explanation behind the odd “racism” mishap, bar spokesman Guyot said that employees sometimes ask for credit cards in case a customer is trying to walk out without paying their bill. Maybe the judo pro was in the wrong situation at the wrong time, but he still believes his skin tone had something to do with it.

Do you believe the Buddha Bar waitress grabbed a hold of Teddy Riner in an act of racism or in fear of not being paid?

[Image via Creative Commons]