For a few days now, a French athlete has been in turmoil after several tweets posted a few years ago have resurfaced. With racist and homophobic connotations, the 5,000-meter finalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics has published an apology message that is not going down well with Internet users.
As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are about to end, many controversies have been the focus of attention. Between the athletes’ inappropriate behavior, life in the Olympic Village, and information from the past that has resurfaced, there has been no shortage of controversy. And this 27-year-old athlete, Hugo Hay, has not escaped them. While he will try to win the gold medal in the 5000m this Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 7:50 p.m., the athlete has been in turmoil for several hours.
Indeed, several tweets from his past of a homophobic and racist nature have been unearthed by Internet users. Posted between 2014 and 2024, these tweets are in reality extremely violent: “The p*ss disappeared”, “Congratulations n*gga”, “Calm down, you dirty Arab”, “I f*ck gays” can be read among many other comments from the athlete. A tweet in which he directly targets the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron about the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was even revealed. A complicated situation for the young athlete who felt obliged to react and speak out on this same social network, this Friday, August 9, 2024.
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Hugo Hay apologizes for his comments
It was early in the evening that the 27-year-old athlete tried to make amends on social networks.Tweets I posted a few years ago are resurfacing today. I want to sincerely apologize to anyone who was hurt, disappointed, or shocked by my comments.” He begins his message before continuing: “I should never have said them, written them, despite my young age at the time. I am terribly ashamed of it today.“.
“All of his remarks go against the values that I carry and defend on a daily basis. I am no longer the stupid teenager who made insulting, hurtful remarks. Nothing, not even questionable humor, can justify them, neither in a private nor in a public setting. As an athlete, my words have an even greater impact and should never be used to relay such remarks and values of hate.” he concluded. While he chose his words carefully to apologize, Internet users were not at all convinced by his justifications.
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Hugo Hay’s chosen excuse does not convince Internet users
Although he took time to manage the crisis and assess the situation as best he could, the excuse given by the young man to justify his remarks did not succeed in calming the controversy at all. On X (formerly Twitter), Internet users did not hold back, for them the excuse of “young age” served by Hugo Hay is absolutely not admissible, particularly because of numerous tweets posted in June 2024.
“For Hugo Hay, the excuse of stupid teenager tweets would therefore work until June 2024.” remarks one of the Internet users while another is surprised: “So in June he was still immature, it’s crazy how quickly he could change.“. A reason why the sincerity and honesty of the young athlete have been questioned. It remains to be seen whether the French Athletics Federation will sanction the athlete for these somewhat problematic tweets.
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