Sports Ministry Denies Athlete Expelled over Virginity

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Gatot Sulistiantoro Dewa Broto said his side had contacted the Indonesian Gymnastics Association (Persani) in light of a female gymnast who was allegedly expelled from the list of the contingent of 2019 SEA Games over virginity issue.

“News about the forced repatriation of an athlete by Persani is not true. The coach Pak Indra confirms the athlete is indiscipline and has no focus that affects her performance,” said Gatot in a press release, Friday, November 29.

Gatot said the athlete’s misbehavior was the reason she was expelled from the list of Merah Putih contingent of 2019 SEA Games so that she was replaced by a higher-rank athlete. “There is no relation to the virginity issue.”

Referred to Presidential Regulation No. 95/2017, Gatot said the authority of athlete’s promotion and degradation is on the hands of the federation of the sports branch, instead of the ministry or the National Sports Council (KONI).

“If the issue is true, we will take stern action because this is a private matter, and it is not linked to his/her performance,” Gatot added.

The ministry, he went on, called on all sports branch to not cause even a little fuss as it will likely affect the concentration of the country’s delegation in general and asked them to first consult to the federation chief, KONI, or even the ministry. “So, such a sensitive issue can be mitigated immediately,” Gatot said.

IRSYAN HASYIM