Wanted to post this to clear this up .. Cause I heard some people actually believing this story..
Just the facts, ma'am:
by Jon Wertheim
Over the past weeks, a few of you sent me links to accounts on Rafael Nadal condemning Israel. Nadal insinuating himself into the Middle East snarl? This struck me as odd. He tends to shy away from politics. But he's been more outspoken on non-tennis issues lately. And the quotes kept popping up, yes in what are clearly fringe propagandist sites, but also in mainstream accounts. (You may have agreed or disagreed with his quote; but it was hard to fault an athlete for using his platform to support a cause more meaningful than a sports drink or a brand of shoe.) I sent a link via Twitter. Many of you commented.
I contacted the Nadal camp to see if there was more to the story. The response: "The information about that flotilla and Rafa being part of it is COMPLETELY false. Rafa has 1) not been approached, 2) has never committed to anything like this and 3) is not talking about politics on a national or international level and is not planning to do so anytime soon although clearly he has his own thoughts. So even if he would have been approached he would have declined." Here's a part of an email from Nadal himself: "I got really upset with this information, Normally I get very upset when I see false news out there, but even more when they are fake news about politics. Hope this is clear, crystal clear." The morals here are obvious. Perils of the digital age. Don't believe everything you read. Take a second before blindly forwarding a link.
Read more:
0 comments