The UN human rights office has condemned racist abuse against American tennis player Coco Gauff after her match with Xinjiang Sun at the Beijing tournament. Gauff won the match 7-5, 6-1, but reported a large number of racist attacks on social media after the match.
The negative reaction was caused by a controversial moment in the first set. Gauff stopped play and raised her hand to signal a flickering advertising board as Sun was about to score the winning point. After a video review, the referee ordered the point to be replayed.
In response to a post containing a racial slur, Goff wrote on X: “You can dislike me or disagree with what happened without being racist.“
Call to the world of sport
In its statement, the UN Human Rights Office described the racist messages against Goff as “appalling“. They said the case showed how black female athletes can become targets of racist and malicious speech.
“There is no place in sport for racial or sexist insults and abuse“, the position said. The organization called on players, coaches and sports structures to protect athletes against such attacks, and for fans to oppose racism and sexism.
The case attracted attention outside tennis, as the online backlash against Gauff followed the umpire's decision to replay a point, rather than a violation for which the American was penalized. The UN's position placed the incident in the broader context of racist and sexist insults against athletes on social media.
Sources: bta.bg, 1-e8259.azureedge.net