Rosie Gallegos-Main, the chiropractor tasked with caring for the US women’s wrestling team, has expressed regret for a social media post she made likening coronavirus screening measures at the Tokyo Olympics to actions during Nazi Germany.
In the now-deleted post, Gallegos-Main compared the pandemic response timeline to stringent screening measures, drawing criticism for her choice of words. Her post was flagged by Twitter and Instagram for spreading misinformation.
The Tokyo Olympics welcomed around 22,000 foreign participants including athletes, officials, coaches, and media personnel. To curb the spread of COVID-19, the Japanese government mandated strict protocols such as presenting a negative test result taken within 72 hours prior to entry and restricting contact between visitors and the general Japanese populace for the initial two weeks following their arrival.
After her comments surfaced, the Associated Press notified the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, prompting Gallegos-Main to remove the contentious posts from her social media accounts shortly thereafter.
Consequently, she issued an apology expressing her oversight and the unintended impact of her words. Gallegos-Main vowed to discontinue the use of such language without proper discernment of its implications and context.
The USOPC announced that as part of her resolution, Gallegos-Main will undergo a diversity, equity, and inclusion training to enhance her understanding of the organization’s policies.
