He Athletic Club paid tribute last Saturday, before the opening whistle of Athletic – Espanyol, to the mountaineers Martin Zabaleta and Pasang Temba for the fortieth anniversary of the day in which they both reached the summit of Everest, a tribute that caused a great media stir as it transcended an image of the Basque mountaineer with an Ikurriña with an emblem of the terrorist group ETA. Four days later, this Wednesday, the club sent a letter to its members with a complete explanation of the events.
The letter begins with a broad explanation of the late statement, sent this Wednesday to avoid doing it earlier, “in the middle of the media noise”and not “give the controversy attention” that the act “does not deserve”, in the opinion of the club.
From there, the text lists a series of “fundamental facts” that explain, according to the club’s communication department, the events that occurred:
“The first of them, and the most basic, is that Athletic Club, through the honor kick, paid tribute exclusively to the sporting feat and those who achieved itand disassociates itself from any political interpretation or value judgment that may have been made of the act,” he points out first to highlight a feat that he describes as “magnificent.”
Secondly, he highlights with a series of examples “the sporting merit that this promotion had” to, thirdly, stick to the events that occurred in San Mamés: “As for the hoaxes spread, you should know that Athletic Club is not aware of them, Neither before nor after the kick-off, any photograph of an ikurriña with the anagram of ETA neither on the summit of Everest nor with Martin Zabaleta. Nor any statement by Martin Zabaleta in favor of ETA or endorsing that anagram of ETA,” he explains.
Finally, the letter clarified the club’s position regarding the events and violence: “In recent days we have heard and read real atrocities, but there is something that is indisputable, and that we show both inside and outside the field of game, is our genuine identity. Despite whoever it may be, Athletic Club represents a plural community and defends the values linked to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and especially equality, inclusion, diversity, equity, respect and peace, and condemns violence and terrorism in all its manifestations“, ditch.
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