Page 31 - bon-dia-aruba-20210723

A31
sports Diabierna 23 Juli 2021

Olympic opening ceremony director fired for Holocaust joke

(AP) — The Tokyo Olympic or- “We have been preparing for the last
ganizing committee fired the di- year to send a positive message,”
rector of the opening ceremony Hashimoto said. “Toward the very
on Thursday because of a Holo- end now there are so many incidents
caust joke he made during a com- that give a negative image toward To-
edy show in 1998. kyo 2020.”

Organizing committee president Sei- Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the Tokyo
ko Hashimoto said a day ahead of the organizing committee, also acknowl-
opening ceremony that director Ken- edged the reputational damage.
taro Kobayashi has been dismissed.
He was accused of using a joke about “Maybe these negative incidents will
the Holocaust in his comedy act, in- impact the positive message we want-
cluding the phrase “Let’s play Holo- ed to deliver to the world,” he said.
caust.”
The last-minute scandals come as
“We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s
in his own performance, has used a government faces criticism for pri-
phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy,” oritizing the Olympics despite public
Hashimoto said. “We deeply apolo- health concerns amid a resurgence of
gize for causing such a development coronavirus infections.
the day before the opening ceremony
and for causing troubles and con- Koichi Nakano, who teach politics at
cerns to many involved parties as well Sophia University, wrote on Twitter
as the people in Tokyo and the rest of that the opening ceremony chaos un-
the country.” derscores a lack of awareness in Japan
about diversity.
Tokyo has been plagued with scandals
since being awarded the Games in Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said
2013. French investigators are look- she learned of Koyayashi’s comments
ing into alleged bribes paid to Inter- from Hashimoto.
national Olympic Committee mem- Earlier this week, composer Keigo
bers to influence the vote for Tokyo. Oyamada, whose music was to be “Any association of this person to the “I was astonished,” she said.
The fallout forced the resignation two used at the ceremony, was forced to Tokyo Olympics would insult the
years ago of Tsunekazu Takeda, who resign because of past bullying of his memory of 6 million Jews and make Kobayashi’s Holocaust joke and
headed the Japanese Olympic Com- classmates, which he boasted about in a cruel mockery of the Paralympics,” Oyamada’s resignation were the lat-
mittee and was an IOC member. magazine interviews. The segment of he said. est to plague the Games. Yoshiro
his music will not be used. Mori resigned as organizing com-
The opening ceremony of the pan- Kobayashi is a former member of a mittee president over sexist remarks.
demic-delayed Games is scheduled Soon after a video clip and script of popular comedy duo Rahmens and Hiroshi Sasaki also stepped down as
for Friday. The ceremony will be Kobayashi’s performance were re- known overseas for comedy series in- creative director for the opening and
held without spectators as a measure vealed, criticism flooded social me- cluding “The Japanese Tradition.” closing ceremonies after suggesting a
to prevent the spread of coronavirus dia. Japanese actress should dress as a pig.
infections, although some officials, Japan is pushing ahead with the
guests and media will attend. “Any person, no matter how creative, Olympics against the advice of most Also this week, the chiropractor for
does not have the right to mock the of its medical experts. This is partially the American women’s wrestling
“We are going to have the opening victims of the Nazi genocide,” said due to pressure from the IOC, which team apologized after comparing
ceremony tomorrow and, yes, I am Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate is estimated to face losses of $3 bil- Olympic COVID-19 protocols to
sure there are a lot of people who dean and global social action direc- lion to $4 billion in television rights Nazi Germany in a social media post.
are not feeling easy about the open- tor of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, income if the Games were not held. Rosie Gallegos-Main, the team’s chi-
ing of the Games,” Hashimoto said. a Los Angeles-based human rights ropractor since 2009, will be allowed
“But we are going to open the Games group. The official cost of the Olympics is to finish her planned stay at USA
tomorrow under this difficult situa- $15.4 billion, but government audits Wrestling’s pre-Olympic camp in
tion.” He also noted that the Nazis gassed suggest it’s much more. All but $6.7 Nakatsugawa, Japan.
Germans with disabilities. billion is public money.

US volleyball star back for 3rd Olympics after giving birth

(AP) — A third trip to the that elusive gold medal. a 9-centimeter separation of be pleasant to be around, but ed at times by her body after
Olympics was far from a “I would be lying if I said that her “six-pack” muscles in her I’m going to find a way to matches that she is a 33-year-
sure thing for U.S. vol- I didn’t have doubts, but at stomach that was big enough make it happen,’” she said. old mother.
leyball star Foluke Akin- the same time, the player I for a fist to fit through. “I’m pretty driven that way.” She played professionally
radewo Gunderson when am, I just always believe that in Japan this past season but
she gave birth to her son whatever I put my mind to, That left her with little core She got an extra year to get was told at one point by U.S.
in November 2019. it’s going to happen,” she strength, but she was deter- back into shape because of coach Karch Kiraly that her
said. “It was a goal and aspi- mined to make it to Tokyo the COVID-19 pandemic blocking and other aspects of
A challenging pregnancy that ration of mine and I was go- even if the Olympics had and spent that time working her game weren’t up to her
robbed her of most of her ing to do whatever it took to gone on in 2020 as sched- out in her garage between usual level.
core strength left her ques- make that happen. But, yeah, uled. She told her husband, breastfeeding sessions and
tioning whether she could there were many moments Jonathan, that she would do keeping in touch with her That only served as more
get back to her usual elite along the way where I just whatever it took to get back U.S. teammates over Zoom. motivation. Gunderson said
level. But Gunderson had set thought maybe it wasn’t for to the Games. that after feeling like her ego
a goal of being both a mother me.” Gunderson said she still has got kicked, she found anoth-
and professional athlete and And now she’s here getting a small separation in her er gear and is heading back to
took advantage of the delayed Gunderson developed a se- ready for her first match of stomach but has regained the Olympics in strong form,
Olympics to make it back vere case of diastasis recti dur- the tournament on Sunday. almost all of her strength, al- which is no surprise to her
again this year in search of ing her pregnancy, which left “I told him, ‘Listen, I won’t though she does get remind- teammates and Kiraly.