Team USA Chiropractor Under Fire For Comparing Olympic COVID-19 Protocols To Nazi Regime

A chiropractor for the American women's wrestling team has been forced to issue a public apology after comparing COVID-19 protocols at the Tokyo Olympics to Nazi Germany.

Rosie Gallegos-Main, who has worked with Team USA since 2009, landed herself in hot water with authorities when a social media post was recently flagged by both Facebook and Instagram.

In the post, she said: "We went from 'Flattening the curve in 14 days' to 'Going door-to-door to see your papers'... Gotta admit, I did N-A-Z-I that one coming."

Unsurprisingly, the post was met with huge backlash from fellow social media users.

PA

It wasn't long before the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) were made aware of the comments and they were deleted shortly after.

Finally realising her mistake, Gallegos-Main has now publicly apologised for her actions saying that she "did not put any thought into how the ending of the meme might affect others" and that it was "poor judgment" on her behalf.

"I now see that these are linked and can't be separated," she wrote.

"I will never use this word again in any form that does not have a proper foundation for its usage, such as in a history lesson or in educating people about the past.

"I'm deeply saddened by this and wish to apologise for my poor judgment and my choice to share this message. I am also sorry that this may have been a distraction for the delegation which should be focused on supporting our athletes to the best of our ability."

It's understood no further disciplinary action will be taken against Gallegos-Main and she will remain as the chiropractor for the women's wrestling team.

Despite not slapping her with a more severe punishment, the USOPC still weren't be pleased with Gallegos-Main's remarks and have promised to offer her "educational resources" going forward.

"The USOPC does not condone or tolerate any behaviour that intentionally offends or attacks others," the USOPC told AP.

"The post that this volunteer shared is completely inconsistent with our values and we made this clear to her as soon as we became aware of it.

"As shown through her prompt removal of the share and her apology, she has shown clear remorse and committed to an educational process with DE&I experts. The USOPC will work with USA Wrestling to see that she gets that educational resource and understands our organisation's shared global purpose of building a better, more inclusive world through sport."

Topics: olympics, Tokyo Olympics, Team USA, Wrestling, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry