Sofia Goggia apologizes for homophobic statements

Sofia Goggia has apologized for homophobic statements that she made in an interview with Corriere Della Sera. 

When asked if there were any homosexual athletes on the World Cup circuit, she replied, “Among women, yes. Not for men, I would say. You have to throw yourself down the Streif in Kitzbuhel.”

This sentence supports the outdated narrative and prejudice that gay men are weaker than their straight male counterparts. 

Just hours after the interview was released, which incited immediate backlash towards Goggia, she issued an apology on her Twitter account.

“A falling tree makes more noise than a growing forest. I am sorry and I apologize to all the people who felt offended by the sentence that came out in the Corriere interview which, certainly, when I said it, did not want to be of a discriminatory nature” 

Some feedback on her apology was that she did not understand the impact her words have .

“Dear @goggiasofia people ‘did not feel offended’, you offended them. It is not a question of our sensitivity. It’s a question of what you said, which is discriminatory and conveys stereotypes and toxic machismo. You make the forest of prejudices grow too.”

The Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Ivan Scalfarotto, also had an opinion. He wrote, “I read with dismay that according to Sofia Goggia a gay athlete would not be able to do a downhill. Before saying such things, kind Sofia, you should stop and think twice: speed is an advantage in the race but with words it can become a big problem”