Indonesian badminton player must apologize for being rude to volunteers at SEA Games 31-Young

A male badminton player of the Indonesian sports delegation had very difficult words with a female volunteer at the 31st SEA Games. This athlete then received a lot of criticism from the Indonesian online community, Finally had to apologize.

A series of images when Yeremia said extremely rude words. Photo: Twitter.

When an athlete in a national sports delegation travels to another country to compete, that athlete not only needs to save face for himself, but also for his country. This is something that surely every athlete understands.

However, during the excitement, there are athletes who seem to have no control over their words, only to then receive criticism and even boycott. An Indonesian badminton player is also suffering the same thing after making rude jokes at SEA Games 31 in Vietnam.

In a live video on Instagram, athlete named Yeremia Rambitan (Jeremiah is reported in the newspaper), who won the silver medal, was about to leave Vietnam jokingly shouting to someone: I love you, I want (to) **** you! (I love you, I want… you). This sentence is sexual harassment allegedly directed towards a Vietnamese female volunteer.

The friends accompanying this athlete even burst out laughing.

Although Yeremia’s Instagram account was later suspended, his rude actions were recorded by many people and posted on other social networks. Indonesian netizens were very angry, calling for a boycott and punishment of Yeremia. They wrote comments like:

“Not only him, but his friends also have mental problems. Let’s make them pay.”

“Shame on you, you dare use your words to harass a volunteer when he is wearing a shirt with the Indonesian team logo on his chest.”

“He said those words to a volunteer, someone who helped him, even joking is not acceptable.”

Yeremia Rambitan. Photo: PBSI.

Later, the Badminton Federation of Indonesia (PBSI) posted a video in which Yeremia apologized: “I’m sorry Badminton Federation, sorry Indonesian Olympic Committee, sorry Indonesian badminton fans. I am very sorry for my mistake in joking. The coach severely criticized me and I also apologized to the volunteer. Once again, I apologize for everything.”

Eremia apologizes. Photo: PBSI.

PBSI has warned Yeremia, but it is not known whether to apply any penalty as netizens call for.