Team USA chiropractor apologizes for linking Olympic COVID protocols to Nazi Germany
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A chiropractor for the US women’s Olympic wrestling team has apologized for her “poor judgment” for comparing Olympic COVID-19 safety measures to Nazi-era Germany.
Rosie Gallegos-Main, who has been a chiropractor on the team since 2009, sent a letter to the USA Wrestling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee on Wednesday, saying she was sorry for her “poor judgment and my choice to share” the message on social media.
“I am also sorry that this may have been a distraction for the delegation which should be focused on supporting our athletes to the best of our ability,” she wrote.
In a since-deleted post on her Facebook and Instagram accounts, Gallegos-Main shared a meme criticizing the Olympic safety protocols.
“We went from ‘Flattening the curve in 14 days’ to ‘Going door-to-door to see your papers’ … Gotta admit, I did N-A-Z-I that one coming,” the post said.
The post was flagged by both social media platforms for spreading misinformation.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee condemned the post on Wednesday as “completely inconsistent” with its values.
“The USOPC does not condone or tolerate any behavior that intentionally offends or attacks others,” the organization said. “The post that this volunteer shared is completely inconsistent with our values and we made this clear to her as soon as we became aware of it.”
The organization said she will be required to undergo diversity, equity and inclusion training.
“As shown through her prompt removal of the share and her apology, she has shown clear remorse and committed to an educational process with [diversity, equity and inclusion] experts,” the USOPC said.
“The USOPC will work with USA Wrestling to see that she gets that educational resource and understands our organization’s shared global purpose of building a better, more inclusive world through sport.”
Gallegos-Main will be allowed to finish her planned stay at the team’s pre-Olympic camp in Nakatsugawa, Japan, the USOPC said.
In her statement Wednesday, Gallegos-Main said she “did not put any thought into how the ending of the meme might affect others” and was “an emphasis on coercion by authorities, rather than anything to do with Germany and the Jewish people.”
“I now see that these are linked and can’t be separated,” she wrote. “I will never use this word again in any form that does not have a proper foundation for its usage, such as in a history lesson or in educating people about the past.”
With Post wires
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