After being spotted making 'white supremacy' gesture, Paris Olympics official stripped of accreditation by Olympic authorities

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Aug 02, 2024 19:29 GMT

A bizarre incident took place at the La Concorde arena during the second day of the Paris Olympics, where an official was seen making hand gestures on camera. This happened during the Women's Street Skateboarding finals on Sunday, July 27.

The hand gesture was an 'OK' sign, which is normally used as an emoji in texting. In this gesture, the thumb and forefinger come together while the three remaining fingers are stretched: 👌

However, this particular hand gesture has an underlying meaning for far-right ideologists. According to reports from The Telegraph, the hand gesture symbolizes "white supremacy". The Anti-Defamation League from the US had added the hand sign to a list of hate gestures in 2019.

As per reports from the Telegraph, the man in question was seen showing off the gesture in front of the camera twice, firstly when Australia's Chloe Covell was on the track and then during silver medalist Liz Akama's performance.

Even though in the visuals, the unidentified man is seen donning an OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Service) T-shirt, he is not among the members of the Olympic Broadcasting Team. He is just associated with one of the contractors on the team.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken strict action in the case, canceling the accreditation of the individual responsible for the hand gesture. One of the officials of the IOC recently said in a statement:

"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.”

British Rugby player Amy Wilson-Hardy withdraws from the Paris Olympics 2024 after her racist remarks come to the limelight

Amy Wilson-Hardy at the Rugby World Cup (Image via: Getty Images)

Amy Wilson-Hardy, a member of the Great Britain Women's rugby sevens team, recently withdrew from the Paris Olympics after a racist remark made by her over WhatsApp came to the limelight.

In the WhatsApp message (deleted since then), Wilson-Hardy wrote:

"Thought I'd have a better chance with the blacks."

The 32-year-old hasn't been a part of Great Britain matches in the Paris Olympics since then. She was also absent in the matches against China and Ireland. Following the message coming to light, the British Olympic Association (BOA) has ordered a strict investigation of this action by Amy Wilson-Hardy.

After Wilson-Hardy's withdrawal from the quadrennial event, 24-year-old Abi Burton replaced her in the team. Great Britain did not make the semi-finals of the Rugby Seven event at the 2024 Games.