Peppered among the grand tales of glory from the Olympics are some awful life lessons for athletes who couldn't resist taking Twitter to racist depths.
Swiss football player Michel Morganella has been sent home after taking to Twitter to voice his disgust with losing to South Korea. Instead of losing with class, he lobbed an idiotic tweet that will now mark him with shame well through the Games.
Deadspin reports Morganella initially tweeted some verbal refuse that featured a threat and some awful slurs.
His Twitter account has since been deleted, but 101 Great Goals has a screen capture and translation:
I want to beat up all South Koreans! Bunch of mentally handicapped retards! (“Je les tous Defonce Coréens, allez vous tous Bruler, bande de trisos!”)
The Associated Press now reports this blast has cost Morganella more than just dignity, but also the honor of concluding the Olympics with his team.
The Swiss Olympic team has expelled the athlete back to Switzerland where he can continue to stew. There was, of course, a quick response and apology from the footballer:
I am sincerely sorry for the people of South Korea, for the players, but equally for the Swiss delegation and Swiss football in general. It’s clear that I’m accepting the consequences. After the disappointing result and the reaction from Korea that followed, I made a huge error.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time such a disgrace has hit the London Games. Asthe Associated Press report reminds us, Greek triple-jumper Voula Papachristou was sent home prior to the Games after tweeting a racially-charged post.
The punishment fits the crime in both instances. Athletes who lose sight of the basic Olympic tenet need to be on the outside looking in.
The Olympics may be all about competition, but the message should always lead towards world unity.
Of course, all of this could be avoided if athletes would take two seconds prior to tweeting and use their brains.
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