The Olympic champion in volleyball, the Brazilian Wallace de Souza, was suspended after he raised a poll, whether he should shoot the president of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who recently returned to head the country, after being convicted for corruption and also spent time in prison.
While many were happy with the election results, a large number of Brazilians did not accept the decision, including de Souza, who is a staunch supporter of former president Jair Bolsonaro, when one of the athlete's followers on Instagram asked him if he would "shoot Lula in the face with a 12-gauge gun )".
A short time later, the gold medalist from Rio 2016 and silver from London 2012, took the poll on social media and asked his fans if he should shoot the newly elected president in the face.
He later deleted the post and uploaded a video in which he apologizes for his actions.
"I would never incite violence in any context, even less when it comes to our president," the volleyball star said.
"So I'm here to apologize, it was an unfortunate post I published, I was wrong."
The Brazilian Volleyball Federation said in a statement that it "rejects any form of violence or incitement to violent action."
O Bolsonarista Wallace de Souza, jogador de vôlei do Cruzeiro Sada and ex-seleção, resolvedu spurred the assassination of Presidente Lula.
Teremos punição para esse delinquente?
pic.twitter.com/XTY3l3czMk
— Lázaro Rosa 🇧🇷 (@lazarorosa25) January 31, 2023
The Brazilian Olympic Committee said it had lodged a complaint against de Souza and said the post was "unacceptable".
The suspension was handed down by his club, Sada Cruzeiro, "for an indefinite period of time".
Sports Minister Ana Moser, a former volleyball player who won a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics, said in a tweet: "Before being an athlete, Wallace is a Brazilian citizen and must obey our laws and institutions."
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