Nigerian sprinter, Gloria Asumnu, has apologised to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for her act of indiscretion which prompted the federation to issue her a six-month ban.
In a letter to the federation, Asumnu said she was sorry for the comments and actions she made during and after the World Championships in Moscow, Russia.
She claimed that her actions were not in any way meant to be intentionally disruptive or offensive.
“During my meeting with the Disciplinary Committee at this year’s World Championships, I issued a verbal apology. Further, not only did I comply with the request made at the said meeting to ‘clean up my social media wall’, I also issued a public apology on my social media page. That said, I hereby apologise once again to the AFN and to all of the Moscow team/officials for any unruly behavior on my part.”
Clarifying her refusal to participate in the 4x100m relay, Asumnu stated that she suffered a hamstring injury while competing in the 100m semi-final race.
“I underwent examination and daily rehabilitative treatment in an effort to improve my readiness for the relay. Unfortunately, my recuperation did not progress as quickly as hoped and as such, the final decision to withdraw myself from the relay was made solely to avoid further injury. Kindly accept my apology for any inconvenience/disruption caused to the AFN and the team,” she concluded in the letter of apology.
AFN’s Technical Director, Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama urged athletes at all levels from junior rank to those participating in the Golden League and those that will represent Nigeria at international competitions, to make discipline their watch word.
“Athletes are role models and they must be good ambassadors at all times. The federation will not hesitate to discipline any unruly athlete after fair hearing, while those that are good ambassadors of the federation and Nigeria will be celebrated,” he said.
