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Another day, another scandal: Tokyo Olympics fires opening ceremony director for 1998 Holocaust joke – National Post

Published

3 years ago

July 22, 2021

The Tokyo Olympics faced the latest in a series of PR disasters when they were forced to fire the director of the opening ceremony a day before it takes place, after a decades-old video emerged of him

Author of the article:

Bloomberg News

Isabel Reynolds

Publishing date:

Jul 22, 2021 • 5 hours ago • 2 minute read • 28 Comments

Hiroshi Sasaki, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games executive creative director, displays a portrait of Olympics opening ceremony show director Kentaro Kobayashi during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan. Both men have left the Olympics after scandal. Photo by Kyodo /via REUTERS

The scandal is the latest blow in the run-up to the games, which are taking place under unprecedented circumstances, mostly without spectators and against the wishes of much of the Japanese public as virus cases rise in the capital.

“We have discovered that Kentaro Kobayashi in the past made fun of a painful part of history, so he has today been removed from his post,” Olympics chief Seiko Hashimoto told reporters Thursday. “We apologize deeply for the trouble and worry caused.”

A video shared on social media showed Kobayashi, when he was working as a comedian years ago, joking about the Holocaust as part of a skit. The Mainichi newspaper said the video dated to 1998. The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a statement condemning his remarks as “malicious.”

“Any association of this person to the Tokyo Olympics would insult the memory of six million Jews,” it cited the centre’s Associate Dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper as saying.

Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu also condemned Kobayashi’s comments, calling them “deeply offensive and unacceptable,” in a statement. “Such remarks also go completely against the value of unity that the Olympic and Paralympic Games strive for, and against our goal of realizing a society where everyone can live in harmony.”

With the director out at the last moment, Hashimoto said it was unclear how the opening ceremony would be handled on Friday. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is scheduled to be at the event, alongside U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The latest debacle comes just days after a composer whose music was set to be used at the opening ceremony resigned following the emergence of past interviews in which he had talked about tormenting disabled classmates while at school.

Tokyo Olympics Chief Mori Steps Down After Sexist Comments
Tokyo 2020’s branding as the “diversity” Olympics has been called into question several times. Hashimoto herself was appointed as head of the organizing committee after her predecessor, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, stepped down after making discriminatory remarks about women earlier this year.

A public opinion survey by Japanese broadcaster JNN on July 3-4 found 35% of respondents were in favour of a spectator-less Olympics, while 26% wanted to allow some fans, and 34% wanted to cancel the games or postpone them again.

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Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

8 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

15 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

18 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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