Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou was booted off her country's
Olympic team after making a racist comment on Twitter, according to various media reports.
The articles reported that Papachristou said on Twitter: “With so
many Africans in Greece … at least the West Nile mosquitos will eat homemade
food!!!” Though Papachristou later apologized, it is understandable why
Greek Olympic leaders removed her from the team.
This decision is not just a golden opportunity lost for Papachristou,
but for the fight against racism as well. The Olympics is a venue where
athletes of various races, religions, sexual orientations, etc. come together
in the spirit of competition at the highest level.
I venture to think that Papachristou interacting with
African athletes would be the best chance for her to learn why her words were hurtful and inappropriate. Actually
spending time with the people she insulted and learning who they really are is
the best antidote to the venom of racism.
And if she changes her views (though to be fair she did say in her apology that she "could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races"), then it is a great story to
champion in the fight against bigotry.
This is not to say that Papachristou should not have been
sanctioned. But is kicking her off the team creating the best outcome? Perhaps
having her perform a public service announcement educating people about the
wrongs of racism would have been better. Ills that plague society cannot be
swept under the proverbial rug. Rather they must be confronted head on and
honestly.
An Olympian telling kids that she made a mistake about
making a racist act and telling young people that is it not right to judge
people on the color of their skin can be pretty powerful. It can be especially
effective if she were to also describe the multitude of athletes she met at the
Olympics and how they helped her grow as a person.
I just don’t think society gained too much keeping Papachristou
at home. Can we honestly say that she will not harbor any racist thoughts because
of this punishment? It is much more likely that if she has any bigoted
sentiments she will now just keep them to herself.
-- Steve Bien-Aime
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