“With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!”
This is the tweet that got triple jumper Voula Papachristou kicked off Greece’s Olympic team Wednesday. Or, more likely, negative reaction including thousands of follow-up comments got her kicked off.
Also cited was the fact that she’d retweeted comments originating from one of Greece’s far-right political groups — but you’d hate to think quoting from statements by a legal political party can get you so severely punished in the Birthplace of Democracy.
At the same time Papachristou was thrown off the team, the Hellenic Olympic Committee ordered all members of Greece’s Olympian team not to post any comments on any social media not directly related to their preparation for competition.
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© 2012 by Bill Bickel unless otherwise noted.
Just kidding about the Birthplace of Democracy thing. I’m sure the juvenile attempt at humor was just an excuse for a far-left government to punish and discredit a vocal supporter of the far-right — just as “Monday” was an excuse to get rid of a police officer the chief really seemed to dislike.
Since when is “African” a race, rather than a description of where someone is from? Egyptian Arabs and South African whites are Africans too, aren’t they?
It’s not our team, so it’s none of our business. That should have been a poll choice.
George P – The whole point of this site is to comment on things that are none of our business.
That’s going into my file!
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Of course you can gripe, this is the internet Goddamnit!
— hobbitboy (PEEL forum)
If English isn’t her first language, then the joke might not have been as “racist” in her native tongue …
She earned that spot, and she did nothing illegal, so she should keep it. If her endorsement opportunities dry up and coaches start to treat her like a disease, that would be an appropriate punishment, if in fact her comment is racist. That’s all popularity-driven. Her athletic accomplishments are not in question, so she belongs on the team.
Under normal circumstances, let her make a fool of herself. But right now, she represents her country. So yes, she gets thrown off the team. She is guilty of both a bad joke and bad timing.
I voted in the middle. But after reading Kerra’s comment, I have to agree with her. Otherwise, her government has to take the flak for her insensitivity. Remember, part of the purpose of the Olympic games is to promote the best of ourselves through good sportsmanship. Which this joke wasn’t.
Just goes to show: be very careful what you put out on the web or social media.