The chief minister of the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Paulo Pimenta, repudiated, this Tuesday (31), a post in which volleyball player Wallace Souza, Cruzeiro athlete and Olympic champion for the Brazilian national team, suggested ” shoot” at President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 
Yesterday (30), the player published a photograph on his official Instagram account carrying a 12-gauge shotgun and opened it to comments from his followers. One of them asked if the athlete “would shoot Lula in the face with that 12”. The player then made a poll about the comment with the same question. Then displayed the comment.
“This post was made by the @sadacruzeiro volleyball player, and former athlete of the Brazilian national team, Wallace Leandro on his Instagram. I have already activated the AGU [Advocacia-Geral da União], and we will make all necessary arrangements. We will not tolerate threats made by extremists and coup plotters!” the minister posted on Twitter.
Wallace is a declared supporter of former president Jair Bolsonaro, with whom he has photos published and usually presents himself with weapons.
The player’s club spoke out after the incident, repudiating Wallace’s publication. “Sada Cruzeiro deeply regrets the publication made by our athlete Wallace and its content. We live in a delicate moment, in which we need to be very careful with our manifestations. Social networks can seem to be a space in which everything is released, without much evaluation of interpretation possibilities, and this is a gigantic trap. We will reinforce with all our staff, athletes and coaching staff on the importance of responsibility in the use of digital media. We emphasize, above all, that violence should never be exalted or encouraged and that, on behalf of Sada Cruzeiro, we sincerely apologize to everyone”, says the club in a statement.
Suspension
At the end of the afternoon, the club released a new note informing that Wallace will be punished, starting tomorrow (1st) with removal and suspension for an indefinite period, as provided for in his contract. “We hope that the episode serves as a lesson for everyone, with a reflection on the conscious use of social networks, and the responsibility that each one has in disseminating good values. Sport should be a tool to spread equality, tolerance and respect”, he says. the new note of the club.
sporting entities
The Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) was another entity that criticized the player’s post. “The CBV repudiates any type of violence, or incitement to violent acts, and understands that sport is a tool for propagating values such as respect, tolerance and equality.”
The Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) also released a note about the case. The COB informed that it sent a representation to the Ethics Council of the entity against the volleyball athlete. The body, which is independent, will proceed with the stages of the process. “The Committee classifies as unacceptable the post made by the player, who represented the Brazilian volleyball team in three Olympic Games”, says the note. “The COB reinforces that what moves Brazilian sport are the Olympic values such as excellence, respect and friendship and that, therefore, there is no room for any violent conduct or incitement to violence.”
The Committee to Combat Discriminations of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj) reported that it should denounce Wallace Leandro de Souza for the crime of inciting violence.
So far, Wallace has not commented on the repercussions of his post.
Article updated at 6:37 pm to add a note from the Brazilian Olympic Committee and information that volleyball player Wallace Souza was suspended by the Sada Cruzeiro club.
