Chloe Dygert, the former world TT champion, has been strongly criticised by Rapha, one of her team's sponsors, after her social media activity. Rapha also said her apology was not sufficient and had compounded the problem.
Dygert and her new team, Canyon-SRAM Racing, recently issued apologies for the rider's social media activity, though they made no direct reference to the social media output they were apologising for.
However, the issue centres around Tweets that Dygert “liked” in recent months. One tweet stated “white privilege doesn’t exist” while another questioned the motives of Colin Kaepernick, the American footballer who took the knee during the national anthem in a protest against racial inequality.
That Tweet stated
the player “realised that if he grew an afro and played the part of
victim, he could scam the black community out of millions”.
Advertisement
Another Tweet ‘liked’ by Dygert related to plans by US president Donal Trump to allow single-sex homeless shelters refuse transgender people. That Tweet stated “men who self-identify as women, are not actually women”.
Related News
Rapha has now issued a statement in which it was much more direct about the matter than either Dygert or her team, saying that "back in June (she) endorsed racist and transphobic views on social media".
"Rapha wholeheartedly condemns these actions as they were offensive, divisive and have no place in cycling or society," the company's statement said.
"Since we became aware of this incident, we have taken time to fully investigate what happened, consulting with the rider, Canyon-SRAM Racing and other partners in order to take informed action in response.
"Having undergone that process, we believe that Chloé has made very serious errors of judgment, which were compounded by an apology she issued that was not sufficient.
"However, we also believe that trusting the ability of people to change is key to reaching any form of meaningful reconciliation. Having spoken to her at length, we believe that Chloé has the capacity and the will to listen, learn and to change.
"As a result of our conversations, the willingness that Chloé has demonstrated, and the meaningful actions that Canyon-SRAM Racing is putting in place, Rapha will continue to support the team."
Topics
