Cycling
Cycling official Patrick Moster is now sent home early after his racist statement. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) decided on Thursday (July 29th, 2021) that the sports director of the Association of German Cyclists (BDR) must leave the Olympic Games. During the men’s time trial, Moster cheered on German driver Nikias Arndt with the words “get the camel drivers, get the camel drivers, come on”.
“We are still convinced that his public apology for the racist remarks he made yesterday is sincere. With this derailment, however, Mr. Moster has violated the Olympic values. Fair play, respect and tolerance are non-negotiable for Team D,” said DOSB boss Alfons Hörmann.
Moster’s words captured on television
This was preceded by a “detailed consultation of the delegation leadership and a renewed hearing of the person concerned,” as the DOSB announced. Moster had cheered on Arndt from Cologne with racist words on the route to catch up with Azzedine Lagab (Algeria) and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eritrea) who were driving in front of him. The calls were captured on television and broadcast live. Moster then apologized for his statement.
“In the heat of the moment and with the overall burden we have here at the moment, I have missed my choice of words. I am so sorry, I can only sincerely apologize. I did not mean to discredit anyone,” he said. He did not want to draw any personal consequences and instead took up his role in the track cycling competitions that began on Monday. BDR President Rudolf Scharping also wanted to review the “unacceptable” statement after the games.
Clear reactions from Arndt, Schachmann and Zabel
Arndt was “horrified” and distanced himself from the statements of the sports director. Even professional cyclist Maximilian Schachmann, who was used in the time trial alongside Arndt, emphasized that such words had no place in the Olympic Games and in the world in general. The world cycling association UCI also got involved and condemned Moster’s calls. The affected Algerian Lagab also spoke up.
“Well, there is no camel race at the Olympics, that’s why I do cycling. At least I was there in Tokyo,” Lagab wrote on Twitter. Rick Zabel, who did not start at the Olympics, found clear words. “On the one hand, I understand all athletes who say nothing about it because they are afraid of being in the line of fire if they express their opinion or are simply no longer nominated for a European Championship, World Cup or Olympics,” he wrote Professional and son of the former cyclist Erik Zabel on Instagram.
Zabel criticizes Moster’s “succinct apology”
“Even if I’m not at the Olympic Games myself, I’m ashamed of the statements.” Zabel criticized that there was only a “succinct excuse” after the race. “Personally, I cannot understand that the BDR or DOSB did not take immediate consequences after this behavior.” If you want to represent Olympic values and anti-racism campaigns in a credible way, such an incident should not be tolerated.