In today's headlines with Susie Nordqvist, rowing 'super mums' win gold, and the boss of Presbyterian Support Otago quits. Video / NZ Herald / Getty / Photosport
A Paris 2024 official has had his accreditation revoked for appearing to make a hand gesture during the women’s street skate finals last weekend that can be interpreted as “an expression of white supremacy”.
The man in question, who was wearing Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) kit but was later identified as a subcontractor, was standing behind athletes and coaches at La Concorde Urban Park on Sunday when he was twice spotted making the “okay” hand sign, low and to his side, in the background of event footage.
The finger-and-thumb gesture, which is also a popular emoji, is generally used to show approval or that someone is okay.
The 'OK' hand sign is a far-Right symbol Photo / Caze TV-YouTube
However, its use as a far-right symbol is apparently on the rise.
According to a Brazilian journalist who brought the matter to the attention of Paris 2024 organisers, the man appeared to be watching himself on one of the big screens at the La Concorde Urban Park, trying to manoeuvre himself into position, before making the sign.
He was spotted doing it while Australian Chloe Covell was competing, and then again later while standing behind Japanese athlete Liz Akama.
It is unclear what his motives were.
A spokesperson for the IOC said: “The person in question has been identified and confirmed not to be a member of the OBS team. They are associated with one of its contractors. The contractor has been informed, consequently, the individual’s accreditation has been cancelled effective immediately.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which has since 2000 kept a “Hate on Display” list, with the aim of helping people recognise signs of extremism, said the signal had been used in recent times by the far-right as a “sincere expression of white supremacy”.
It is unclear whether the man intended to be spotted making the gesture.
According to the ADL, what started out as an online joke on 4Chan has become a “popular trolling tactic” from “right-leaning individuals, who often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the gesture”.
Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 made the sign during his first court appearance that year on murder charges.
The Brazilian journalist who reported the matter to Olympic organisers said the issue was “nothing new” in his country, citing a trial last year in which the judge overturned the acquittal of Filipe Martins, special adviser for international affairs to the government of Jair Bolsonaro, of the crime of racism, after he used the hand gesture in the Senate in 2021.
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