O’Byrne issues apology after comment sparks major backlash
BASKETBALL Ireland has rushed to emphasise its commitment to inclusion following the backlash from a social media comment made by the organisation’s CEO Bernard O’Byrne.
In a post on BBC News Facebook that was questioning the legitimacy of a penalty won for England by Raheem Sterling in their European Championship semi-final clash with Denmark, O’Byrne commented ‘BLACK DIVES MATTER!!!’
The post sparked huge criticism and O’Byrne has since issued an apology saying: “My choice of words commenting on a penalty incident were not thought out.
“It was an error of judgement and I whole heartly apologise for the comments.”
Regarding the issue, Basketball Ireland, said: “Basketball Ireland CEO Bernard O’Byrne has deleted a recent social media post, which made reference to an incident at Euro 2020.
“The comment was made from his personal account.
“Basketball Ireland would like to stress its ongoing commitment to inclusion and basketball’s diverse community, which has been led by Mr O’Byrne in recent years”.
