Toronto Raptors Apologize After Backlash To Video Marking Women’s History Month

etcanada.com:

The Toronto Raptors have issued an apology after a video meant to honour Women’s History Month was hit with backlash. The video was clearly well-intentioned, with three team members — Scottie Barnes, Malachi Flynn and Precious Achiuwa — attempting to the virtues of women, one at a time, as they each answer the question, “Beyoncé said girls run the world.

Why do you think that’s true?” READ MORE: Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam Named NBA All-Star After Initial Snub Two of the responses, however, raised eyebrows: Flynn’s statement, “They are the only ones that can procreate,” and Achiuwa’s “They birth everybody.” The team quickly removed the video and issued an apology. “We’re an organization that prides itself on doing the right thing when it comes to inclusion and representation, and we made a mistake yesterday,” a Raptors spokesperson said in a statement to the Toronto Star. “Our sincerest apologies to our players, our staff and our fans — we’ll work to do better today and every day after.” Flynn and Achiuwa’s statements were slammed on social media, with numerous Twitter users lambasting the video as “tone deaf.”