Gymnastics Ireland APOLOGIZES for unfairness brought up by Simone Biles in denying black gymnast’s pursuit of a medal during children’s match event

Racism ought to be eradicated from all sports, with no room for debate. The behavior of the individuals who handed out the rewards resulted in them being scolded by the Gymnastics Ireland federation.

Gymnastics Ireland APOLOGIZES for unfairness brought up by Simone Biles in denying black gymnast’s pursuit of a medal during children’s match event

Simone Biles (Pic Credit: Imago)

Gymnastics Ireland has issued an apology to the young girl who did not receive her medal. The organization found itself at the receiving end of an overwhelming amount of criticism due to a video that went viral on social media, revealing a group of girls being presented with awards at a special event, except one black girl who was not acknowledged.

Gymnastics Ireland offered an apology for a video in which a black girl was denied a medal during a ceremony. The video became very popular online. In March 2022, a gymnastics event in Dublin served as the backdrop for the recording. The video depicts a medal ceremony for a group of children, however, the black girl in the clip was not awarded a medal.

After re-emerging, the video captured the interest of various individuals, including Olympic champion Simone Biles, who came across it while browsing through social media. Biles was very sad about what happened. Upon being contacted by the gymnast’s parents, the American athlete promptly responded with a video message.

According to Simone Biles, racism in both sports and society at large can never be condoned. Gymnastics Ireland has apologized to the gymnast’s family and has extended its condolences for any distress this may have caused.

Related: “Let’s work, work, work,” Simone Biles sets a new standard for success, prioritizing mental health and thriving against the odds

Gymnast’s mother responded on the issue of getting an apology

As per the gymnast’s mother, an apology has not been received by them, according to the Irish Independent. In addition, she mentioned that she visited the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation in Switzerland to address this issue. According to the newspaper, the family believed that their daughter, who is black, was disregarded during the event. The mother conveyed her feelings of immense sorrow and anger being constantly the only black family present at gymnastics events.

Simone Biles in a file photo[Credit-NBC]
Simone Biles in a file photo[Credit-NBC]

The video has accumulated a viewing audience of eight million people. Despite evidence of wrongdoing, Gymnastics Ireland, from Pakistan to Ethiopia, continues to deny any fault and refuses to apologize. The company offered an apology and recognized that what occurred on that day was not acceptable.

The organization hired an outside expert to check its rules and ways of doing things before. To prevent a recurrence, they have implemented modifications as recommended by the expert. To improve our procedures in this situation, Gymnastics Ireland has expressed their intention to hold discussions with the gymnast’s family as well as Sport Against Racism Ireland.

It said that the group “strongly condemns all types of racism”. In their investigation, Gymnastics Ireland discovered that the person responsible for distributing the medals sincerely apologized, acknowledging their unintentional mistake. The organization conveyed its satisfaction in witnessing the gymnast’s continuous participation in its events.

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