"Schon lange wird um die Zukunft von Cam Zink gemunkelt. Der US-Amerikaner hat in den letzten Jahren vorwiegend mit homophoben Ausfällen auf sich aufmerksam gemacht, hat jedoch bereits Ende der Saison verkündet, wieder einen Rahmensponsor für das kommende Jahr zu haben."
Ich finde seine Entschuldigung und sein Statement zu der Sache (siehe unten) authentisch und erwachsen. Natürlich bin ich politisch etc. weit weg von ihm (er wurde von seinen Äußerungen aus der Vergangenheit zu schließen in einem patriotischen, eher right-wing orientierten Umfeld in den USA sozialisiert), dennoch erkenne ich in seinen Worten eine positive Tendenz und der Wille aus seinen Fehlern zu lernen. Deswegen sehe ich Passage in dem Artikel über ihn nicht fair, da einseitig recherchiert.
"This past week I made a huge mistake in using words that are hurtful and unacceptable. Calling myself and a someone else’s bike a homophobic slur is inappropriate, insensitive, childish and an action I am not proud of. I’m not a hateful person and I realize that my words do have the ability to hurt people. It’s time to promote change in the world, to remove hateful words from our vocabulary, and to stop using them forever. And I will be part of this change. I have never had any hate or prejudice toward people of a different sexual orientation, and will ensure that my words reflect this going forward. I am deeply sorry to anyone I affected, or offended.
I have spent the last four days reaching out to everyone I can find who made a comment, message or post to apologize directly. If there is anyone else out there who is offended, please write me, as I would love to continue this dialogue and try my best to make you feel welcome around me, or just following me. I will do everything I can to make it right, and to promote positive change for everyone else to understand that carelessness is no excuse to use words that can hurt or exclude others. Hopefully my experience will ultimately help people like me who grew up being cavalier with these words to take immediate action to remove them from our vocabulary.
I have so much love in my heart there is no room for hate. I am sorry for my words not showing that last week.
I am asking for your help in the comments below for suggestions on organizations to include LGBTQ+ individuals in mountain biking, and to combat and educate people on the dangers of online bullying. I am planning to donate bikes and my time for this cause, as this incident has made me realize how much progress still needs to be made.
Much Love,
Cam"