Olympic champ Shaun White apologizes for Halloween costume
Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, October 30, 2018
- FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2018, file photo, gold medal winner Shaun White celebrates after the men's halfpipe finals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Three-time Olympic champion snowboarder Shaun White has apologized for a Halloween costume that drew criticism from the Special Olympics. White recently posted and then deleted an Instagram photo showing himself dressed as “Simple Jack,” a character with disabilities from the 2008 movie “Tropic Thunder.”(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
Three-time Olympic champion snowboarder Shaun White has apologized for a Halloween costume that drew criticism from the Special Olympics.
White recently posted and then deleted an Instagram photo showing himself dressed as “Simple Jack,” a character with disabilities from the 2008 movie “Tropic Thunder.”
Soeren Palumbo, senior director of global youth engagement at the Special Olympics, told HuffPost the organization was disappointed White had chosen a costume that “is so offensive and causes so much pain. Disability is not a joke nor should it be a punchline. We hope that Shaun White and others learn that this just continues stigma, stereotypes and discrimination.”
White tweeted an apology for what he said was a last-minute, “poor choice” of a costume.
“The Special Olympics were right to call me out on it,” White said. “They do great work supporting so many tremendous athletes and I am sorry for being insensitive. Lesson learned.”
The 32-year-old White won Olympic gold medals in 2006, 2010 and 2018.