Four United States swimmers werāe barred from the Paralympic closing ceremonies in Paris earlier this month for disparaging comments on sšocial media they made about another competitor.
Jessica Long, Gia Pergolini, Julia Gaffney and Anastasiź§a Pagonis were disciplined after appearing to question the disability of one of their teammates, vioą“lating U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee rules, .
The penalties could also lead to suspensions and a loss of stipends, per the outlet.&nź¦bsp;
āWe can confirm tš„hat sanctions have been imposed on several athletes due to unacceptable behavior,ā a USOPC spokesperson wrote in a statemenš»t to the Washington Post. āIt is important to uphold the standards expected of Team USA athletes, and we remain committed to addressing any actions that undermine our values.ā
The punishments stem from comments made about U.S. swimmer Christie Raleigh Crossley, who sufź¦¦fers from S9, a šneurological disorder.
šLong, who has been outspoken about cheating in Paralympic swimming in the past, took aim at her teammates celebrating Raleigh Crossleyās world record-setting 50-meter freestyle swim on Aug. 29.
A Spanish swimmer, Sarai Gascon Moreno, commš ented āS9? Ištās a joke?ā to which Long replied, āI stand with you.ā
Gaffney went after Raleigį©į©į©į©į©į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©š±į©į©į©h Crossley in a separate post, writing āNot aā positive impact. Intentional misrepresentation is never cute.ā
Pagonis said āthisā with a raising hands emoji and Pergolini wrote āwell saidā with a rź§aising hands emoš¹ji on the same post.
Raleigh Crossley addressed the questiošning of her dš„isability while in Paris for the games.
āI went from enjoying a world record to being utterly devastated that the entire world seems to think I was a cheater and that I was somehow faking the hole in my brain and the cyst inš my spinal cord,ā Raleigh Crossley said. āTo be told online by all of these bullies that I am not somehow disabled as I appear, just because I can swim faster than tšhem, itās pretty devastating.ā
Long došubled-down on her comments earlier this month, acź¦°cusing the Paralympic committee of being too lenient with their regulations.
āFor me, Iāvą¶£e seen the Paralympic movement for so long. I think we have intentional misrepresentation [rules] for a reason. And I think we are not using it. I think we really should, right?ā Long said. āI want to see Paralympics with ą¶£integrity. I want to see it better.
“And thatās what I will always stand for.ā