The video of a Gymnastics Ireland official intentionally skipping a child Black gymnast during a medal ceremony caused uproar on social media.
The video, which is reportedly from March 2022, shows an official handing out medals to winners at the GymSTART competition held in Dublin. The official skips the Black girl and hands other children their medals during the ceremony.
Initially seen smiling and excited, the girl becomes disappointed and embarrassed after being ignored by the official.
Gymnastics Ireland issued a statement shortly after the video became viral on social media.
They noted that both parties agreed to enter mediation, which led to a resolution agreed by both parties in August 2023.
“We identified the official concerned and informed the individual in question of the complaint. The official in question accepted fully that what had happened was unacceptable but stressed that it had not been intentional,” the gymnastics body said. Many social media users criticized the Irish body, saying that the incident was clearly intentional as the teacher is seen with a medal in her hand after handing everyone’s medals, except for the Black girl’s.
