US fencers wear pink masks at Olympics: Certain photos have been doing rounds on social media in which three fencers from the Men's US Olympic team can be seen donning pink masks when they arrived in Tokyo for their opening match against Japan on Friday. Why is this being dubbed as one of the most powerful Olympic Games images on the Internet today? That's because Jake Hoyle, Curtis McDowald and Yeisser Ramirez of the epee fencing team wore their pink masks to protest against a teammate accused of sexual misconduct.
Sources close to the team told BuzzFeed News that three of the four athletes on the men's team were against the inclusion of the accused teammate, Alen Hadzic, who is currently being investigated for sexual assault allegations. Hadzic was the only teammate to wear a black mask and joined the team in Japan as an alternate. Protesting his inclusion, his teammates wore pink face masks before the start of the event. "They decided to make a statement that they were not standing for him being there," a fencing athlete not part of the team assured. "The disdain was clear," one source repeated that this was a sign of protest against Alen Hadzic.
Why did the US fencers wear pink masks at Tokyo Olympics?
Hadzic, who has consistently denied all claims against him, was an alternate in the epee fencing team. He was accused of sexual misconduct in more than one incident between 2013 and 2015, according to the New York Times. Hoyle, McDowald and Ramirez reportedly wanted to make a "distinction" between themselves and the accused and underline the fact that they don't support or encourage sexual assault and abuse against women. These athletes, sources said, wanted to have a voice where US Fencing failed.
The USA Today reported that Hadzic, who hails from Montclair, New Jersey, was accused of sexual impropriety by at least three women. He was initially suspended by the US Center for SafeSport, a nonprofit aimed to protect victims of sexual in sports, in June. He appealed and won the case on June 29 despite facing at least three allegations of past sexual misconduct. He was then permitted to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, which led to the outrage among Team USA fencers.
His inclusion prompted six women fencers, including two Olympic athletes, making a solid request to the International Olympic Committee to not allow him to represent the country. His presence, they said, was a “direct affront” to fellow athletes and put the women at risk. However, Hadzic was put under restrictions per a "safety plan" put in place by USA Fencing. He was kept away from female athletes and separated from the Olympic village, as well as forbidden to practice with women teammates.
Hadzic has however accused his teammates of leaving him in the lurch, "They never asked me for my side of the story," he said, further adding, "They never asked for evidence or how I felt." The fencer also said that he also confronted two of his teammates- Hoyle and Ramirez, over the incident.
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