Rugby player Traorè: «A rotten banana as a Christmas present from teammates»

Secret Santa is a rotten banana in a garbage bag. But it’s not a joke. It’s racism. Cherif Traore, Benetton rugby player, denounces what happened at the Christmas dinner during the delivery of anonymous gifts to the players. And the company comes out on a harsh note. «Benetton Rugby has always been on the side of respecting the ethnicity and faith of each of its players».

Cherif Traorè has broad shoulders. The blue prop, 28 years old, in Benetton rugby since 2015, is one of the winning names of the national team. But some things are capable of knocking out even the strongest athlete. The Guinean-born sportsman experienced yet another episode of racism on his own skin. In perhaps its most stinging form: disguised as an innocent joke on which to linger in laughter. After a sleepless night, she wanted to report the episode on Instagram.

«Christmas is coming and as per tradition in the team it is time for the Secret Santa. A convivial and playful moment. A moment where you can afford to give anonymous gifts to your companions, even pungent, ironic ones. Yesterday, when it was my turn, I found a banana inside my gift. A rotten banana, inside a garbage bag».

Team mates watched as the package was opened, laughing at the gimmick and humiliating the Pylon. “In addition to a gesture that is in itself offensive, the thing that hurt me the most is seeing most of my companions present laughing. As if everything were normal.” And at this point, after a night of reflection, Traorè has decided to make the incident public.

«I’m used to, or rather, I’ve had to get used to, having to put on a brave face every time I hear racist jokes to try not to make enemies close to me anyway. Yesterday was different though. Fortunately, some comrades, especially foreigners, have tried to support me. Outside of Italy, a gesture like this is seriously condemned even within small realities, and this time I want to have my say”.

The Benetton player, top name in the national team, explains that due to the presence of so many players, even very young ones, of different nationalities, he has chosen not to remain silent to ensure that episodes like this never happen again to prevent other people from find themselves in your situation in the future. The gesture, in itself offensive and censurable, becomes paradoxical if one considers that it has always been the world Benettons it is the world of differences, of openness to every creed, to every racial identity, to every way of being. In fashion Benetton has created its own role as the antithesis of discrimination and racism.

The reaction from Benetton Rugby was not long in coming. «We would like to reiterate that we have always condemned with the utmost firmness any expression of racism or form of discrimination. They are not part of our culture and do not represent our identity and our values. We have always demonstrated it with deeds, not just with words, and we will continue to support it strongly». Thus the Treviso association, regarding the episode reported on the green-and-white player’s social profiles. «Similar behaviors have nothing to do with sportand faced with episodes like this, Benetton Rugby will always be on the side of respecting people, their culture, their ethnicity, their faith and their dignity”.

The mayor of Treviso Mario Conte also wanted to intervene firmly on the matter. «I am sorry for what happened to the player Cherif Traorè: an episode from which we all distance ourselves and which in no way represents the people of Treviso, sport and, in particular, rugby and the Benetton team, which have always example of respect and sound principles».

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