Brazilian volleyball champion suspended by team after asking fans if President Lula would be shot
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The Brazilian volleyball champion was SUSPENDED by the team over an Instagram post posing with a gun and asking fans if they would shoot President Lula ‘in the face with that 12 (mm) pistol.’
- The Brazilian volleyball team, Sada Cruzeiro Volei, suspended Wallace da Souza
- The punishment was issued a day after da Souza posted a poll on Instagram asking his followers if they would shoot President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
- Da Souza came up with the post after a fan asked him in a question-and-answer session on Monday: “Would you shoot Lula in the face with that 12 (mm) pistol?”
A Brazilian volleyball player has been suspended indefinitely by his team for posting on social media asking supporters if someone would shoot President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Sada Cruzeiro Volei issued the punishment Tuesday night, a day after Wallace da Souza held an Instagram Q&A with followers and one of his fans who asked: “Would you shoot Lula in the face with that 12mm pistol?
The Sada Cruzeiro board emphasizes, once again, that it repudiates any act that could mean incitement to violence, after the posts by the athlete Wallace. Attentive to the evolution, the club reports that it has been taking measures in response to the fact,’ the club said in a statement.
The decision was made after the club ordered da Souza to issue a ‘Full retraction and an apology.
The follower’s question was raised after da Souza posted a photo of himself brandishing the firearm on his Instagram story.
Wallace da Souza was suspended Tuesday by his volleyball club, Sada Cruzeiro Volei. The punishment came a day after da Souza posted a poll on Instagram asking his followers if they would shoot President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
As of Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had yet to comment publicly on the Instagram poll posted by volleyball player Wallace da Souza, who asked followers if someone would shoot him.
He proceeded to repost the follower question and included a poll asking fans, “Would anyone do that?”, followed by an angel emoji.
The vote showed that 54% of his followers clicked yes and 46% opposed such violent action.
Da Souza, an ardent supporter of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, apologized Tuesday afternoon for the bizarre post, acknowledging that it had “very bad social repercussions.”
The Brazilian Olympic Committee announced that it was opening its own investigation, calling da Souza’s behavior “unacceptable.”
Although President Lula did not publicly address the Instagram post, Paolo Pimenta, the minister of the Social Communication Secretariat, asked the Attorney General’s Office to investigate da Souza.
Wallace da Souza shared a question from an Instagram follower who asked, “Would you shoot Lula in the face with that 12 (mm) pistol?” Leandro proceeded to repost the follower’s question and also started a poll in which he asked fans, “Would anyone do that?”
Wallace da Souza was suspended Tuesday by the Brazilian volleyball club, Sada Cruzeiro Volei, for posting a poll on Instagram asking his followers if someone would shoot Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Da Souza won gold with Brazil at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
His 353,000 followers on Instagram include Bolsonaro and his sons, Eduardo and Flávio.
Following President Lula’s runoff victory in October, the volleyball player posted a photo of Lula on social media that read: ‘crime in Brazil pays’ and added the caption: ‘Brazil really isn’t for amateurs. Ps: enjoy it now before the censorship starts.’