The Toronto Raptors recently released a video celebrating Women's History Month, but it backfired immediately. Fans were upset, as the video was offensive and called the Raptors insensitive.
The Raptors quickly deleted the video and issued an apology via The Toronto Sun:
"We're an organization that prides itself on doing the right thing when it comes to inclusion and representation, and we made a mistake (Tuesday)," the statement reads. "Our sincerest apologies to our players, our staff and our fans – we'll work to do better today and every day after."
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It was a cringey and misguided video, with Malachi Flynn saying that women "are the only one that can procreate." Precious Achiuwa followed up by saying, "They birth everybody," while Scottie Barnes did not make any controversial statements. He just said that women are queens.
Fans went ballistic on social media, calling the video insensitive. They explained that women are not just about giving birth and procreating. Women are much more than what the Raptors portrayed them to be.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter against the Raptors:
"Women can do more than have babies"
"It portrays women as only birth givers and not actual people"
"They went straight to 'reproductive organs.'"
"It was so awkward. It was a TERRIBLE question to begin with, plus the players gave terrible answers lol."
"That's like saying men are only relevant for their seed"
While others were upset with the Toronto Raptors, some fans defended the team and the video was not malicious. Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa stated facts and giving birth is one of the most beautiful things a woman can do. Some even thought that the Raptors didn't need to apologize.
Here are some of the comments defending the Raptors:
"Welcome to the new world order."
"It is something to be proud of tho. Without them, the human race is finished."
"Why do they have to apologize for something that is fact?"
"Nothing here offended me"
"Why is saying that they could give birth an insult?"
Toronto Raptors to host Women's Empowerment Night on March 14
Despite their ill-advised Women's History Month video celebration, the Toronto Raptors will host Women’s Empowerment Night on Mar. 14 at the Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors will face the Denver Nuggets that night, and it will probably be an important game with playoff implications.
The Raptors decided not to be sellers at the trade deadline, acquiring Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs to improve their roster. They're ninth in the Eastern Conference and have a 31-33 record.
However, the Raptors have been on fire recently, winning seven of their last ten games. They still have a chance to improve their position in the standings, as they're just four games behind the sixth seed, which is the last guaranteed postseason berth.
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