If there was ever a time that I wish I didn’t have complimentary courtside seats to white male privilege, it was on Saturday when Buzzfeed introduced me to a guy named Alen Hadzic.
Hadzic, an Olympic fencer, should be living his best life after securing a spot as an alternate on the US Olympic team. But according to Buzzfeed News, well…
Six women fencers, including two Olympic athletes, wrote to the Olympic committee that Hadzic should not be allowed to represent the US because he was under investigation for at least three accusations of sexual misconduct reported to the US Center for SafeSport, the nonprofit agency responsible for protecting athletes from abuse. His presence at the Games, they said, was a “direct affront” to fellow athletes and put them at risk.
As a result of his alleged behavior, in June, Hadzic was suspended from participating in international competition. He then successfully appealed his suspension through an arbitration process that clearly has glaring flaws, and is now somehow allowed to compete in Tokyo—much to his own teammates’ chagrin.
Acknowledging the severity of the allegations facing Hadzic, USA Fencing, the athletic federation in charge of selecting the country’s Olympic competitors, created a “safety plan” to keep him away from women and out of the Olympic Village: He flew in on a separate plane from his teammates, is staying at a hotel 30 minutes away from the other athletes, and won’t be allowed to practice alongside women teammates. After he appealed those conditions, the entire roster of Team USA fencers signed a letter demanding the restriction stay in place.
“We are pissed off that this is even a thing we had to deal with,” an Olympic fencer who filed a complaint against Hadzic alleging predatory behavior told BuzzFeed News from Tokyo. “He’s been protected again and again.”
