“Please stop talking about us”: things are heating up among French athletes
On RTL's morning show on August 13, two Olympic champions, Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec, praised the merits of Paralympic athletes, going as far as calling them heroes.
A move that did not please Sofyane Mehiaoui, a member of the French Paralympic basketball team, at all. While judoka Teddy Riner goes so far as to make them wear the “Avengers” cap, Sofyane can’t hold back her indignation:
“You really need to stop talking about us like that, you’re not helping us. We’re neither to be pitied nor to be praised (...) we’re also athletes, which means capable of performance, records and therefore of transmitting strong emotions. That’s why you have to come and encourage us! And not because we’re superheroes! ‘The real champions’, whatever!”
In other words, Sofyane Mehiaoui regrets that disabled athletes are not considered normal athletes because of their disability. He wants to be treated as an equal.
Regardless, Sofyane knows that Riner's remarks were not intended to offend or hurt. However, according to the basketball player, this isn't the first slip up by the French judoka in an interview...
For those who do not know or who have forgotten to note it, the Paralympic Games will take place from August 28 to September 8 in Paris.
(MH with AsD - Source: Demotivateur - Picture: picture alliance/dpa/MAXPPP | Julien Mattia / Le Pictorium)
