Owen Ansah is the first German sprinter to break the 10-second mark. The athlete is celebrated for the “historic moment”. But there are also racist comments. The association reacts.
Following racist comments against the German 100-meter record holder, Owen Ansah, the German Athletics Association is considering legal action. “We as the DLV have a clear stance on this. The DLV stands for athletics, stands for diversity. The national team is a very clear reflection of our society and we also have a very clear zero-tolerance policy towards racism, incitement, exclusion and xenophobia,” said sports director Jörg Bügner.
The sprinter from Hamburger SV was the first German to break the sound barrier of 10 seconds when he won the 100 meters. The 23-year-old improved the eight-year-old German record held by Julian Reus from Wattenscheid by two hundredths of a second, finishing in 9.99 seconds. “I’m not sad at all, I’m glad it happened,” said Reus about the “historic moment.”
“It is very worrying what some people do on social media. The fact that people are reduced to their skin colour or their origin is a huge problem. We are multicultural, we are colourful in Germany. Society should take note of that and not slip too far into this right-wing track,” Ansah’s trainer Sebastian Bayer told ARD.
Association considers criminal charges
Unfortunately, it cannot be prevented that a few misguided people question a historical moment and link it to racism, said DLV official Bügner. The comments will be reviewed, “and we will not hesitate to file a criminal complaint if the wording is appropriate.”
Bügner felt personally attacked. “I have absolutely no understanding of why this still happens in our time. It is very backwards and we will do everything we can to point out again and again that athletics is a reflection of society and stands for diversity. And we will also do everything we can to protect our athletes there,” he said.
Sports director: Should give us food for thought
“This should give us a lot to think about when we find such a massive accumulation of comments online,” said Bügner. Everyone must stand up against such behavior. The association has contacts for such cases. “We also support our coaching and support team.”
Source: Stern
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