Swiss Athlete Removed From Olympic Team Over Anti-Korean Tweet

Twitter appears to be claiming more athletes than drugs or injuries this year. We recently discussed the decision to remove a Greek jumper from the Olympic team over a couple of tweets that were considered offensive. I disagreed with that decision, though many have supported it. Now, Swiss Michel Morganella has been sent home for making insulting remarks on Twitter about South Koreans after the South Korean soccer team beat the Swiss, 2-1, on Sunday.

The tweet was removed but reportedly involved French slang for Koreans and questioned their intelligence.

Gian Gilli, the head of the Swiss Olympic delegation, said that Morganella, 23, had “said something insulting and discriminatory” about the South Korean soccer team. For his part, Morganella said that he had “made a huge mistake” by sending the Twitter message after the game and that he was “truly sorry for the people in South Korea, for footballers, but also for the Swiss delegation and the Swiss football in general.”

This case for me is stronger than the case of the Greek jumper, who seemed equally condemned for her political associations. The difference for me is that Morganella was participating in the games at the time and used a reportedly racist term for his competitors. I still feel bad for athletes who lose so much in unguarded moments.

Morganella is a defender for Palermo and the Switzerland football team. He is half Italian and half Swiss.

One thing that is clear. National teams need to do Twitter training if they do not want their ranks thinned by stupid commentary.

Source: New York Times