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Three men’s fencing masks wearing the U.S. Olympic team arrived in Tokyo on Friday for their opening match against Japan.
But the coordinated masks were not a coincidence; were a planned protest by the trio against a a teammate accused of sexual assault, sources close to the group told BuzzFeed News.
The photos shared on social media showed three of the four athletes on the men’s sword team — Jake Hoyle, Curtis McDowald and Yeisser Ramirez — wearing a pink mask while a teammate. Alen Hadzic – who is being investigated for sexual assault – he was wearing black.
“The contempt was clear,” a source told BuzzFeed News.
“They decided to express that they didn’t defend him for being there,” said another fencing athlete who did not compete at the Tokyo Olympics. “They wanted to make a distinction between themselves that they would not tolerate sexual assault or abuse against women. These athletes wanted to have a voice in the place where US Fencing and SafeSport failed.”
Despite facing at least three allegations of past sexual misconduct, Hadzic was chosen as a substitute for the men’s sword team for the 2020 Olympics, and caused grief and anger among U.S. police officers, as specified in a written statement. BuzzFeed News research.
Her inclusion prompted six women hurdles, including two Olympic athletes, to urge the International Olympic Committee not to allow the United States to be represented; his presence, they said, was “a direct affront” to fellow athletes and put them at risk.
“We are seriously concerned about the potential impact of Mr. Hadzic’s presence on other athletes in the U.S.,” the women wrote on May 20th.
The U.S. SafeSport Center, a nonprofit agency that protects athletes from abuse, suspended Hadzic from the Olympics last month as a result of an arbitration process he fought to lift his ban.
USA Fencing created a “security plan” to keep Hadzic away from women and outside the Olympic Village, and he traveled and stayed separately from his teammates.
Training with women teammates was also prohibited.
Hadzic has denied allegations of sexual misconduct, saying USA Today “That they are untrue.” His lawyer, Michael Palma, told him New York Times that his client had never been sexually assaulted.
USA Fencing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the pink mask.
But the stunt won praise from US fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad and the 2016 Olympic medal.
“Congratulations to the team for taking a stand,” he tweeted on Friday.
While Hadzic did not participate on Friday, the team lost to Japan and finished ninth.
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