TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has condemned a social media post shared by an unaccredited USA Wrestling staff member that compared COVID-19 protocols to Nazi Germany, calling the statement “inconsistent with our values.”
According to widespread media reports, chiropractor Rosie Gallegos-Main shared a post on her Instagram page that read, “We went from ‘Flattening the curve in 14 days’ to ‘Going door-to-door to see your papers’ … Gotta admit, I did N-A-Z-I that one coming.”
USA Wrestling did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gallegos-Main could not be reached for comment.
“The post that this volunteer shared is completely inconsistent with our values and we made this clear to her as soon as we became aware of it,” the USOPC said in a written statement provided to Reuters on Thursday. “As shown through her prompt removal of the share and her apology, she has shown clear remorse and committed to an educational process.”
Olympic competition kicked off on Wednesday as thousands of athletes, coaches and staff have poured into Japan in recent weeks, amid widespread public opposition the Games and surging cases of the deadly coronavirus.
Already 87 Olympic-related personal – including athletes – have tested positive for COVID-19.
The USOPC added that it would work with USA Wrestling “to see that (Gallegos-Main) gets that educational resource and understands our organisation’s shared global purpose of building a better, more inclusive world through sport.”
The incident came as Olympic organisers fired the director of the opening ceremony over a joke he made about the Holocaust as part of his comedy act in the 1990s, which recently resurfaced.
The Olympic opening ceremony is set for Friday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Stephen Coates)
