Mayor who bit into Olympic gold medal volunteers to go 3 months without salary
Japanese mayor Takashi Kawamura has been in hot water since biting into the Olympic gold medal of softball pitcher Miu Goto.
The issue started when Goto went back to her hometown of Nagoya to meet with the mayor. To his excitement upon seeing the gold, Kawamura asked to borrow the medal, removed his mask, and promptly bit into Goto's medal as cameras flashed on. He then stopped to ponder on what he just did, before flashing a sheepish smile to the cameras.
Aside from biting a medal being an act that's typically reserved for the athlete who achieved the accolade, biting into someone else's belongings isn't really the best thing to do amid the pandemic.
The Tokyo 2020 organizers were quick to issue a new gold medal to Goto, and even offered to shoulder the expenses: "With support from the International Olympic Committee and in line with her own intention, Ms Goto's medal is now set to be exchanged for a new one."
With Goto's end already taken care of, mayor Kawamura wants to assure everyone that he's making amends for the bite. In a press conference, he shared that he's about to forgo three months' worth of salary amounting to over 1.5M yen (P690,300) for the mistake.
He will also be attending a harassment awareness class for the act and for asking the female softball players if they are “prohibited from having romantic relationships.”
“I disgraced the occasion and offended Goto and the Japanese people,” Kawamura said before bowing in apology. It hasn't been disclosed if his three-month pay cut will go to select charities or remain in the city's budget.
Photos from AP and Unsplash