The world of American sport between sadness and anger
The cancellation of the right to abortion decided on Friday by the Supreme Court constitutes “a sad day for the United States”lamented former tennis champion and activist Billie Jean King, a sentiment shared by many personalities in American sport.
“The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, who has been protecting the right to abortion for almost fifty years. This decision will not put an end to abortion. What it will end is safe and legal access to this life-saving medical procedure.”lambasted the icon of the movement for gender equality in sport and defender of women’s rights.
“It is difficult to express how sad this day is for me, for my teammates, for all the people this will affect”said, in the same spirit, Megan Rapinoe, the star of the United States women’s soccer team, judging this decision “completely misguided”.
“The right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness and that freedom is under attack. There are an infinite number of reasons why a woman chooses to do what she does with her body and none of these reasons is anyone else’s business.”she added.
“I’m still a bit in shock and trying to process it all. It’s a step backwards for our country.”regretted Lindsey Horan, her teammate in Team USA.
The North American Women’s Soccer League has denounced the fact that this revocation of the right to abortion “deprives individuals in this country of full liberty and equality which is the cornerstone of a just society”.
For the union of professional women basketball players (WNBA), this decision, in addition to that taken the day before by the same Supreme Court aimed at facilitating the carrying of weapons in public in certain States, is the fact of “politicians so disconnected from the country and from any sense of human dignity”.
“Are we in a democracy where guns have more rights than women? »he protested.
Many athletes have expressed their outrage and support for women, such as IndyCar driver Dalton Kellett denouncing “as a man the hypocrisy of the situation”. “If the roles were reversed, it wouldn’t even be up for discussion. We would never give up control of our body. Women shouldn’t have to give up control of theirs. »
For NBA superstar LeBron James, it’s all just“A MATTER OF POWER AND CONTROL!!! »he tweeted.