A Team USA Paintball athlete has come under fire after posting a video in which she says a hospitalized teen does not need a COVID-19 vaccine, but a treadmill.
“Ma’am, your kid does not need a COVID shot,” Team USA Paintball member Jess Maiolo said in a now-deleted TikTok. “Your kid needs a f***in’ treadmill.”
The video shows Maiolo superimposed over a screen grab of another video showing a news broadcast of a teenager who has been hospitalized due to the coronavirus. The original video was reposted with commentary from @rx0rcist, a TikTok creator who frequently posts videos calling out others for spreading COVID misinformation on the platform.
Maiolo’s TikTok account has since been banned due to community guidelines violations. Her Instagram and Facebook pages also seem to have been taken down.
Team USA Paintball Fails to be Accountable
After sharing what was said by Maiolo, Tik Tok user @rx0rcist wrote that she is messaging the Team USA Paintball Instagram account, claiming to do so daily until she gets a response.
According to @rx0rcist, an apology video from Maiolo is imminent.
“Just got word that an apology video is coming,” she wrote. “I’m not interested (nor is it mine to accept). She needs to be dropped from the team.”
While Team USA Paintball issued a lackluster apology through its social media channels and claimed to suspend Jessi Maiolo, footage has since appeared of the team member continuing to practice with the organization. Not surprisingly, Jessi Maiolo is seen wearing a shirt with the word “Hate” in bold lettering on it.
Team USA Paintball Sponsors Ignoring the Comments
“Update for the night: Team USA Paintball has not yet responded,” @rx0rcist wrote yesterday. “Sponsors have been contacted. Check my IG for more. Will update here tomorrow.”
After review of the sponsors of Team USA Paintball, we’re quick to see no action has been taken, thus condoning the actions of Jessi Maiolo. Until sponsors speak out against Team USA Paintball for allowing this player to remain on their team, they too act from a standpoint of bigotry.
As of August 7, comments on the team Instagram page have been limited, as well as those of the sponsors. Team USA’s Instagram page has even gone as far as saying it supports inclusivity, then proceeds to block comments to support a community discussion.
Another commenter wrote that she couldn’t understand behaving this way when children are sick.
“I’ve seen so many videos of adults being mean to children and even babies because they are in the hospital with COVID,” she wrote. “I don’t understand it.”
The Daily Dot and 916 Journal have reached out to both @rx0rcist and Team USA Paintball. However, Maiolo could not be reached for this story.
This story originally appeared on the Daily Dot: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/team-usa-athlete-body-shames-teen-with-covid/