Greek Olympic champion Lefteris Petrounias sought to clarify on Thursday that he fully supports anyone who has suffered any form of abuse in the field of sports after causing a storm of protest on social media with his statements regarding allegations of the maltreatment of athletes.
“My statement took a different direction from what I am actually advocating. I firmly believe that everyone who publicizes their personal story is definitely brave and commendable. My support for anyone who has suffered any form of violence is clear,” he said in a tweet.
He had earlier triggered a wave of responses with his comments regarding the Greek #MeToo movement, which rose to prominence after the revelations of Olympic champion Sofia Bekatorou last year.
“It’s a very tough industry… if there were [abuses] – if, because I’m not sure. I have not seen anything – individual incidents, I am very sorry,” he said, noting that he had “never seen a prominent athlete that has managed to achieve his or her goals with such a complaint.”