Toronto Raptors Delete Cringeworthy Video for 'Women's History Month' After Backlash: 'They Birth Everybody'
Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty; Scott Audette/NBAE via Getty
The Toronto Raptors are facing backlash over a video posted to their Twitter account intended to celebrate Women's History Month.
The 13-second video featured three players Scottie Barnes, Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa.
In it, the players are asked the question, "Beyoncé said girls run the world. Why do you think that's true?" to which Flynn responded, "They are the only ones that can procreate," while Achiuwa added, "They birth everybody."
Barnes ended the video by saying, "All women are great because they're all queens."
The video was quickly deleted from Twitter after it received criticism, but re-posted by other users, who said that Flynn and Achiuwa's comments seemed to reduce women to their reproductive capabilities. Others pointed out that not all women are able or want to have children.
"The @Raptors should spend the next month providing education to their players on ways women are awesome beyond our biology," Twitter user @JudgyJudes wrote. "Not all women can, or want to, give birth."
PEOPLE reached out to the team for comment on Friday afternoon.
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A spokesperson for the Raptors told CTV News Toronto that they aim to be an "organization that prides itself on doing the right thing" in relation to "inclusion and representation" and apologized for their "mistake."
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In a statement to the Toronto Star, the team said it would work to improve in the future.
The club is scheduled to host a Women's Empowerment game against the Denver Nuggets on March 14 in Toronto.
