The 2012 London Olympic Games are set to begin this week, but Voula Papachristou won’t be attending. The almost-Olympian was kicked off of the Greek Olympic team after she sent out a racist message on Twitter.
Papachristou wrote:
“With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitos will be eating food from their own home.”
According to the Huffington Post , the message remained on Twitter for two days before Papachristou issued an apology.
Papachristou wrote:
“I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights. My dream is connected to the Olympic Games and I could not possibly participate if I did not respect their values. Therefore, I could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races. I would like to apologize to all my friends and fellow athletes, who I may have insulted or shamed, the National Team, as well as the people and companies who support my athletic career. Finally, I would like to apologize to my coach and my family.”
But the apology was too little and too late. The Greek Olympic Committee released a statement saying that Papachristou, who was set to compete with the Track & Field team in the triple jump event, would not be participating in the 2012 London Olympics.
Isidoros Kouvelos, president of the Greek Olympic Committee, told EuroNews:
“She showed no respect for a basic Olympic value and unfortunately she is out…. She made a mistake and in life we pay for our mistakes.”
Do you think Voula Papachristou should have been banned from the Olympics over a tweet? The Australian Olympic team also punished two of its athletes over tasteless tweets.
According to EuroNews, the 23-year-old athlete was a long-shot at the 2012 Olympics. Her best triple jump of the season was 14.58 meters, about half a meter from the world leaders.
Here’s a video of Voula Papachristou in action.
