A homophobic speech by Abel Braga, who recently reached the presidency of Internacional, has sparked strong reactions on social media. During the official presentation on Sunday (12/30), the coach linked the pink shirt he wears in training to homosexuality.
In an interview, Abel praised the work of director Andres D’Alessandro and recalled a comment made in the locker room: “I said: ‘Wow, I don’t want my fucking team training in pink shirts, they look like a gay team.’
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The statement had immediate repercussions, and netizens criticized the coach. One user wrote: “Homophobia is a crime, and prejudice kills.” “Radical football is different from committing a crime! Homophobia is a crime, and very disrespectful!”, commented another. A third said: “The pink uniform is because of the fight against breast cancer, and man is bringing sex into the mix.”
Controversy surrounds Internacional’s pink shirt, which is usually used in club training. This year, the team launched a special edition uniform during Pink October, a breast cancer awareness campaign.
After the negative repercussions, Abel posted an apology on social media. The coach realized the mistake and stated that colors do not determine gender, only personality. “Colorado and Colorado, first of all, I realize that I did not make a good statement about the color pink during my press conference. Before this gets out, I apologize. Colors do not define gender. What defines them is character. Internacional needs peace and a lot of work. Let’s go, let’s go, Inter,” he wrote.
Despite the biased nature of the letter and apology, some netizens supported the comment. One follower wrote: “Boy, I didn’t like Appel because of his time at Flamengo, but now after what he said, he has gained my respect and my fans.”