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Every year it seems like there is at least one professional athlete who must finally apologize for an insensitive Halloween costume. This year, this distinction goes to Shaun White. The Olympic snowboarder apologized Monday after warming up for a costume that he wore to party this weekend.
White, 32, chose to dress up as Simple Jack, a special-needs character from the 2008 movie "Tropic Thunder". In the context of the film, the character of Simple Jack is an excessively offensive and deliberately offensive vehicle to mock the Hollywood tendency to use the stories of people with disabilities in order to create emotional films that are often the buzz of the Oscars.
White shared a photo of him in the suit on social media.
After the release of "Tropic Thunder" a decade ago, the script and scenes of Simple Jack aroused controversy. Some thought that this helped to materialize the stereotypes he intended to make fun of.
In this spirit, and without the very specific context attached to the character, one should not be surprised that White's decision to dress in Simple Jack for Halloween was immediately met with a considerable amount of backlash. The Special Olympics have been among the many to call it.
"We are really disappointed that Shaun White, an acclaimed Olympian, has chosen this so offensive and painful suit," said Soeren Palumbo, co-founder of the "Spread the Word to End the Word" Special Olympics campaign statement. "Disability is not a joke or a blame, we hope that Shaun White and others will learn that this only perpetuates stigma, stereotypes and discrimination."
As the reviews began to accumulate, White deleted the picture from his Instagram account and later apologized, acknowledging that he had made an insensitive decision.
"I owe all the people in the Special Olympics community an apology for my bad Halloween costume choice the other night," wrote White. "It was a last-minute decision, it was the wrong decision, the Special Olympics were right to call me about it, they do a great job supporting so many great athletes, and I'm sorry to be insensitive, lesson learned. "
All things considered, whites do not really have anyone to blame except himself. He should have known that the costume would be considered controversial and in bad taste by many. In addition, he had a whole decade of more relevant and less insensitive material to choose from. There is always the next Halloween.
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