Australian Olympic Committee wants petition against breaker Raygun removed - ESPN

SYDNEY — The Australian Olympic Committee has criticized an anonymous online petition attacking controversial Paris Games breaking competitor Rachael Gunn, saying the petition was «vexatious, misleading and bullying.»

Last weekend, the sport of breaking made its Olympic debut. One of the lasting images was the performance of an Australian b-girl known as Raygun — 36-year-old Sydney university professor Gunn — who did a «kangaroo dance» among other questionable moves during her routine, and scored zero points.

Gunn was subsequently heavily criticized for her performance with parodies even being played out on a late night television show in the United States.

Gunn, who has not yet returned to Australia following the Games, received strong support from Australian team chef de mission Anna Meares while still in Paris. On Thursday, the AOC went a major step further, refuting numerous erroneous stories it says have appeared online since.

Chief executive officer Matt Carroll said the the AOC had written to change.org, which had published a petition criticizing Gunn and the AOC, demanding that it be immediately withdrawn.

Carroll says the petition «contained numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete who was selected in the Australian Olympic team through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.»

«It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way,» Carroll said. «It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory. We are demanding that it be removed from the site immediately. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way.. .»

Online criticism this past week has