The Special Olympics issued a statement about White’s costume, saying:
“We are truly disappointed that Shaun White, an acclaimed Olympian, would choose this costume which is so offensive and causes so much pain. Disability is not a joke nor should it be a punchline. We hope that Shaun White and others learn that this just continues stigma, stereotypes and discrimination.”
To his credit, White immediately apologized, and it sounds like the Olympian has learned his lesson and will think twice when he next selects a costume.
“It was a last minute decision,” he posted. “It was the wrong one. The Special Olympics were right to call me out on it. They do great work supporting so many tremendous athletes and I am sorry for being insensitive. Lesson learned.”
— Shaun White (@shaunwhite) October 29, 2018
Hopefully Shaun White can reach out and spend some time with people with disabilities so that he can understand what a wonderful part of our society they are. Though I believe his mistake was “innocent,” as in he did not intentionally mean to harm, we still need to spread the word about this incident, and publicize his apology, so that incidents like this won’t happen again.
