The European Commission backs down on the video haka "offensive"

An official complaint was filed at the headquarters of the European Commission, claiming that a man turns a haka into a joke on social networks. The #BeActive video was about encouraging people to participate in a "Haka Challenge".

Fionnaigh Mckenzie, who complained, said the haka video was "stupid".

"It was also the context of the competition, so the next week the challenge was to do some weightlifting with fruits," she said.

McKenzie says that sports advertising was offensive because the commission contradicts its core values ​​in sports teams that eliminate racism and promote a sense of social inclusion.

"The haka is something really important in Maori culture and it's something that should be respected and not treated like a joke."

In response, the European Commission says that they have great respect for Maori culture. They regret it and act quickly so that it is removed from all our own social media accounts.

Rugby has given priority to haka with a tradition of 129 years of use at all levels.

However, some artists who live on haka have mixed feelings about this concept

. The performer Michael Rūrehe says, "I do not find it offensive, I find it inspiring."

However, Auckland's haka interpreter Nettie Norman believes that the way the haka video was presented was worrisome, but that does not bother the concept.

– This article first appeared on Māori Television and is published here with permission.