Greek Triple Jumper Voula Papachristou Cut From Olympics for Racist Comments Made on Twitter

by Timothy Killian on Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 10:49AM

The Olympics are a spectacle that brings athletes and fans from countries all over the world together for more than two weeks. So making racist comments right before the start of the games is more than just frowned upon.

According to Yahoo Sports, Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou was cut from her country’s Olympic team on Wednesday, after making racist comments on her Twitter account.

“With so many Africans in Greece… at least the West Nile mosquitos will eat homemade food!!!,” Papachristou tweeted from her personal Twitter account, @papaxristoutj.

The triple jumper also retweeted a comment from Greek politician Ilias Kasidiaris, who criticized his government’s immigration policy as being soft, according to Yahoo Sports.

Her tweet was in reference to the West Nile virus, which was first reported in Uganda, and now has reportedly appeared in cases around Europe.

Papachristou tweeted out an apology for her remarks on Wednesday.

“I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights.”

Unfortunately for Papachristou, her apology was not enough for the Greek Olympic chiefs, who consulted with members of Greek Parliament before making the decision to cut her from the team.

(Photo via Twitter/@Papaxristouj)