Soccer star criticised for posting blackface photo of himself
Another day, another case of blackface.
French soccer star Antoine Griezmann has been criticised for posting a photo of himself in full blackface online for an "'80s party" online on Sunday.
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Dressed as what appears to be a Harlem Globetrotters basketball player, complete with an afro wig and darkened skin, 26-year-old Griezmann received a string of angry comments about the costume.
I'm already stressed out about Griezmann's inevitable apology saying "a lot of my best friends are black." pic.twitter.com/0UtS3Yb7Yv
— Miriti Murungi (@NutmegRadio) December 17, 2017
What is Antoine Griezmann thinking?
And is there nobody around him to tell him that is a very bad idea?— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) December 17, 2017
Irony: the free speech advocates on Twitter defending Griezmann’s use of blackface are demanding people find it funny.
— Musa Okwonga (@Okwonga) December 17, 2017
Antoine Griezmann’s brain this evening pic.twitter.com/V7PzjagjFU
— Tom Adams (@tomEurosport) December 17, 2017
Hard to believe people are defending someone dressing in blackface in 2017. If it doesn’t offend you maybe try to understand that it offends a lot of people. Very simple. Not a smart move by Griezmann.
— Adam Joseph (@AdamJosephSport) December 17, 2017
White men love to tell black people how we should feel about racism. I’m not interested in seeing “both sides”, what he did was wrong and he needs to apologize + delete his post.
— Jordan (@jordansdiamonds) December 17, 2017
Griezmann reportedly responded to the photo by telling people to "calm down" and that it was "a tribute," but the backlash continued, and the player eventually apologised and deleted the photo.
"I admit it's awkward on my part. If I hurt some people I apologise," he wrote in French.
Je reconnais que c’est maladroit de ma part. Si j’ai blessé certaines personnes je m’en excuse.
— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) December 17, 2017
Griezmann currently plays for Spanish La Liga team Atletico Madrid, and has been linked to rumours of big money transfers to either Barcelona or Chelsea.
For one of the sport's most liked players, the donning of blackface was a pretty dumb move, to say the least.
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