The Ethics Council of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) suspended the volleyball player Wallace Leandro de Souza, Olympic champion for the Brazilian national team, on a precautionary basis. The athlete has five days from this Friday (3) to present his defense to the body. Last Monday (30), in a post on his Instagram account, Wallace published a photo of himself with a 12-gauge gun and opened a poll asking “Would you shoot someone in the face? [presidente da república] Lula with that 12?”.
At the official opinion the rapporteur-counselor Ney Belo welcomed the representation of the Advocacy-General of the Union (AGU) against Wallace’s conduct, for promoting, in a public way, incitement to crime.
“In the case under analysis, the offenses, the incitement to crime and the threats – even if some of them veiled since they were put in the form of a question or interpreted because they were an image – were all practiced against the highest authority of the country, which occupies the post due to the democratic and smooth electoral process. Thus, the intervention of the Public Advocacy Office in this case is procedurally justified. Thus, the procedural participation of the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) in the requested terms is accepted”, says one of the excerpts from the dispatch signed by Ney Belo.
Sada Cruzeiro, the club where the athlete plays in the current season, removed and suspended the player indefinitely, and demanded that he apologize. After the repercussion of the post, Wallace deleted the publication and apologized, saying that he did not want to “incite violence”.
The COB Ethics Council document also emphasizes the responsibility of Olympic athletes towards society, especially champions, as their conduct reflects on society.
“The Olympic champion athlete exerts influence on all youth, who through sport see in their idols an example to be followed. Teenagers observe the athlete with admiration and respect, and perhaps this is the only place – fiction in cinema safeguarded – where heroes are educational, constructive and do good for the ideals of a people”.
In another part of the opinion, Ney Belo lists national sports stars as examples of conduct.
“Roberto Dinamite, Pelé, Maria Lenk, Esther Bueno not only had the honor and glory of being champions. Everyone had the responsibility of educating generations that needed to be guided by ethical and moral principles to continue in the struggle to build a better society for all, regardless of the political choices of each one”.
Among the punishments for practices like Wallace’s, is the athlete’s banishment from the Olympic sport and payment of fines of up to R$ 100,000.
