Athletics-DM - Racist comments against Ansah: DLV examines criminal charges
According to racist comments directed towards German record holder over 100 meters, Owen Ansah, the German Athletics Association (DLV) is considering legal steps. "We as DLV have a clear stance. The DLV stands for athletics, stands for diversity. The national team is a clear reflection of our society and we have a zero tolerance policy towards racism, hate speech, exclusion and xenophobia," said Sport Director Jörg Bügner.
The sprinter from Hamburger SV became the first German to break the sound barrier of 10 seconds in the 100 meters. The 23-year-old improved the eight-year-old German record of Wattenscheider Julian Reus by two hundredths of a second in 9.99 seconds. "I'm not sad at all, I'm happy that it happened," said Reus about the "historical moment".
"It's very worrying what some people take out on social media. That someone reduces you to your skin color or origin is a huge problem. We are multicultural, we are diverse in Germany. That should be written on the wall of our society and not get too deeply into that right-wing rut," said Ansah's trainer Sebastian Bayer to ARD.
Association considers filing complaint
Unfortunately, it could not be prevented that a few misguided people would question a historical moment and connect it with racism, said DLV functionary Bügner. We will examine the comments, "and we will not hesitate to file a complaint for corresponding formulations."
Bügner felt personally attacked. "I don't understand at all that this still happens in our time. It's very backward-looking and we will do everything to remind everyone that athletics is a reflection of society and stands for diversity. And we will also do everything to protect our athletes there," he said.
Sport Director: It should make us think
"This should make us all think strongly when we find such a massive accumulation of comments on the net," said Bügner. Everyone should stand up against such behavior. In the association, there are contact persons for such cases. "We support our trainer team and caretaker team as well," he added.
- Owen Ansah, the German record holder over 100 meters, has been the subject of racist comments, prompting the German Athletics Association (DLV) to consider legal actions.
- The DLV, led by Sport Director Jörg Bügner, has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism, hate speech, exclusion, and xenophobia.
- Julian Reus, a sprinter from Hamburger SV, became the first German to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters, improving Wattenscheider Julian Reus's eight-year-old record by two hundredths of a second.
- DLV functionary Bügner expressed concern over the racist comments directed towards Ansah, stating that it's worrying to see such behaviors on social media.
- The German Athletics Association is considering filing a criminal complaint for the corresponding formulations in the racist comments directed towards Ansah.
- Bügner, who felt personally attacked by the racist comments, urged everyone to stand up against such behavior and emphasized that the association provides contact persons for such cases.
- In response to the racist comments, Ansah's trainer, Sebastian Bayer, expressed his disappointment at the reduction of people to their skin color or origin and called for celebrating Germany's multicultural and diverse society.
