Column
Call to Formula One: Ban Perez Garibay after homophobic statements
- Ludo van Denderen
With his homophobic statements, Antonio Perez Garibay has made it impossible himself to be in Formula 1 or to visit a paddock in the future. There should be no place in this sport for someone who dares to speak so derogatorily about someone's sexuality. F1 has no choice but to ban Sergio Perez's father from the sport completely, as happened earlier with Nelson Piquet senior after a racist comment about Lewis Hamilton.
Always, Formula 1 and the FIA have advertised their diversity and inclusiveness in motorsport. Formula 1 and its umbrella regulator rightly argue that everyone should feel at home, regardless of origin or sexuality. When Nelson Piquet senior made an inappropriate and offensive remark about Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1 denied Max Verstappen's father-in-law access to the paddock.
Antonio Perez Garibay has a history of absurd statements, but usually those were harmless. Back then people laughed about it and moved on. Just moving on is impossible after what the Mexican has now said in ESPN's podcast. He commented, "There's a driver who was a Formula 1 driver, [turned] journalist. He first stated that Checo was already out of Red Bull. The following week he [Schumacher] came out of the closet. Don't know if he was in love with Checo. Do you understand it? There are many strange things. You no longer know if he is a journalist, a woman, a gentleman."
Perez Garibay does not belong to Formula One
Formula One can only treat Antonio Perez Garibay's statements the same way they did so with Nelson Piquet's. After all, this was not an unfortunate slip of the tongue, but a deliberate attempt to insult Ralf Schumacher. The latter, incidentally, reacted particularly calmly to Perez Garibay's statements. Yet it should certainly not be forgotten that Schumacher waited years to come out, surely because he wanted to avoid comments like those made by father Perez.
What would a young talent in motorsport choose when thinking about coming out or not, when they hear Perez Garibay's statements? They would likely have think twice about saying in the thus still conservative racing world that they are attracted to the same sex. That is why Formula 1 and the FIA should condemn Perez Garibay's words harshly.
The fact that Perez Garibay has not yet apologised is also telling: Apparently, he thinks this is all perfectly normal. But no, it isn't. Therefore, this cannot go without sanction: People who make such comments simply have no place in this sport.
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