We all saw the disheartening video of a young Black gymnast being skipped from receiving her medal at a competition. While the video continues to be played online, her parents can’t get the heartbreaking memory out of their heads.
While speaking to BBC, the 10-year-old’s mother said “It is painful to actually state the obvious – my daughter was the only Black child in that competition, she stood out well. There was no excuse for what happened. She felt very upset about what happened.” The mother went on to say, “It was almost as though they blamed her for being black. It’s something very uncomfortable for a ten-year-old to go through.”
As we previously reported, the incident took place at the GymStart event in Dublin last March. In a now-viral clip shows the moment all the children, except the young Black girl, were given participation medals on the podium. After receiving tons of backlash over the resurfaced clip, Gymnastics Ireland apologized in a statement “for the upset that has been caused”. They said it would ensure “nothing like this will happen again” as they don’t tolerate “any form of racism.”
Her father told the news outlet: “They tried to cover up like it didn’t happen. They probably thought that with time [we’d] forget about it. It was painful. You have to beg for an apology.”
RELATED: Gymnastics Ireland Releases A Statement Regarding Viral Video Of Black Gymnast Being Snubbed A Medal During Ceremony
RELATED: Gymnastics Ireland Releases A Statement Regarding Viral Video Of Black Gymnast Being Snubbed A Medal During Ceremony
In the official statement by Gymnastic Ireland, they also tried to provide background on what happened and how they tried to resolve the situation:
The complaint alleged racist behavior by one of our officials at the event. On receipt of the email, as per our policy and standard practice in relation to complaints, we investigated the matter. Gymnastics Ireland immediately contacted the family to express concern and reassure them that the matter was being investigated. We identified the official concerned and informed the individual in question of the complaint. The official in question accepted fully that what had happened had not been acceptable but stressed that it had not been intentional. The official concerned said that upon realising the mistake they immediately rectified it and ensured that the competitor concerned was presented with her medal before she left the Field of Play (FoP). The official also expressed deep regret for what they described as an honest error and requested the opportunity to apologize in person to the competitor and her family. This request was initially declined.”
Furthermore, Gymnastics Ireland explained that, “A written apology provided by the identified individual has since been issued to the competitor and her family.”
“We have always been and will continue to be a very inclusive sport with a very diverse community of members covering all races, ages, genders, sexualities and socio-economic groups. Our ‘Safeguarding’ policies set out clear standards of behavior we expect not alone from our coaches and gymnasts but also from our clubs, officials, administrators, parents/guardians, and those who attend our events.”
As the Daily Mail noted, Gymnastics Ireland also put out another “unreserved” apology saying: “On behalf of the Board and staff of Gymnastics Ireland we would like to unreservedly apologize to the gymnast and her family for the upset that has been caused by the incident at the GymStart event in March 2022.”
The mother of the girl ultimately thinks the statement and first apology are BS as they described it as “so useless.” They haven’t even shown it to their daughter “because it’s been well over a year.” She added: “They only sent us an apology because the world wanted them to, because we cried for so long.”
How Has The Young Girl Been Since This Incident?
The family said they have since reminded their young daughter that “regardless of your skin colour, people shouldn’t treat you differently.”
As of right now, it is unclear if the family still plans to take legal action against Gymnastic Ireland.
Press Play Below For More:
Source
