Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian reacts to Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. calling himself "tormentor of racists" after abusive fans' conviction
Serena Williams' husband recently reacted to Vinicius Jr.'s statements which came as a reaction after the conviction of the three men who racially abused the soccer star. Vinicius Jr. witnessed racial abuse during a match between Real Madrid and Valencia at Mestalla last year in May.
The incident sparked global outrage and the Brazilian identified the three fans responsible for the abuse, leading to a brief suspension of the match. Real Madrid and LaLiga subsequently took action, with LaLiga filing an official complaint.
Nearly one year later, on Monday, June 10, the three fans were sentenced to eight months in prison and banned from stadiums for the next two years.
Following the conviction, Vinicius Jr. shared a message on social media that was aimed at racist people. The Brazilian said many advised him to ignore the incident but he refused to do so. Declaring himself a "tormentor of racists," Vinicius Jr. celebrated the first criminal conviction for racism in Spanish football, dedicating it to the black community.
"Many asked me to ignore it, many others said that my fight was in vain and that I should just "play football". But, as I've always said, I'm not a victim of racism. I am a tormentor of racists. This first criminal conviction in the history of Spain is not for me. It's for all black people. May other racists be afraid, ashamed and hide in the shadows. Otherwise, I'll be here to collect. Thank you to La Liga and Real Madrid for helping with this historic conviction. More to come…" Vinicius Junior wrote on X.
Later, Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, reposted the tweet shared by Football on TNT Sports. Highlighting one of Vinicius Jr.'s comments, Ohanian wrote:
"I am a tormentor of racists."
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian joined Simone Biles in condemning racism incident at 2022 Gymstart event in Dublin
In September last year, Alexis Ohanian backed the renowned American gymnast, Simone Biles for supporting a young gymnast who allegedly experienced racism in Ireland.
A viral video from the 2022 Gymstart event in Dublin showed a medal ceremony, where a young Black gymnast was seemingly overlooked when medals were being distributed to her fellow competitors.
This omission sparked widespread outrage and allegations of racism, as the other gymnasts received medals while the Black gymnast did not. It was also reported that the girl's parents had been seeking an apology from Gymnastics Ireland.
The incident further gained steam when Simone Biles condemned it on X. She wrote:
"When this video was circulating, her parents reached out. It broke my heart to see, so I sent her a little video there is no room for racism in any sport or at all !!!!"
Ohanian responded to the video by condemning the incident and expressing his support for Simone Biles and the young gymnast.
“I waited to comment on this because a part of me wanted to believe there was some missing piece of the story that would explain why it looked so wrong. There wasn't. And this happened ages ago with no apology until this clip went viral. Good on @Simone_Biles," Ohanian wrote on X.
Apart from Simone Biles and Alexis Ohanian, renowned gymnast Jordan Chiles also raised concerns about the incident.