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Israel's Adam Edelman pilots in the bobsleigh Men's 2-man Bobsleigh, Heat 1, at the Cortina Sliding Centre during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire/dpa
A Swiss commentator has caused controversy after he criticized at length an Israeli athlete during the bobsleigh live broadcast at the Milan/Cortina Winter Olympics.
The commentator accused Adam Edelman of supporting "genocide in Gaza" and referred to Edelman's public statements on social media.
Broadcaster RTS has removed the recording of the two-man event from its website but defended its employee.
"Our journalist wanted to question the IOC's [International Olympic Committee] policy regarding the comments made by the athlete in question. However, although such information is factually correct, its length makes it unsuitable for a sports commentary," the broadcaster said.
RTS is the French-language subsidiary of the public Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.
Edelman and teammate Menachem Chen came 26th in the two-man event, which ended later on Tuesday with a German podium sweep.
Among other things, the RTS commentator questioned whether Edelman should have been allowed to compete at all, given that IOC guidelines exclude athletes who actively support war.
The guidelines refer to athletes from Russia and Belarus who, amid Russia's war in Ukraine, are only allowed to compete at the Winter Games under a neutral flag and without national symbols.
Edelman responded to the remarks on X, saying that the statements shouldn't receive any credit.
"I can't help but notice the contrast: Shul Runnings is a team of 6 proud Israelis who've made it to the Olympic stage. No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit, and unyielding pride in who we represent. Working together towards an incredible goal and crushing it. Because that's what Israelis do," he wrote.
The Israeli Embassy in Switzerland accused the RTS journalist of exploiting "coverage of the bobsleigh competition to advance a personal political agenda, fabricating facts and spreading slander against Israeli athletes."
"The allegations made during the live broadcast were factually incorrect, misleading, and incompatible with the fundamental standards of responsible journalism," the embassy continued in a lengthy post on X.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said that if the incident involved a commentator from a particular broadcaster, the matter should be dealt with by that broadcaster.
"I would like to remind everyone, however they are involved in the Olympic Games, that there are Olympic values and the Olympic Charter. The Olympics are about bringing people together, regardless of what is happening in the world," he stressed.
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that it was "beyond disgusting that the Jew-hating Swiss 'sportscaster' spewed bigotry & bile" at the Israeli bobsleigh team.
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