The AFUO is shocked and disappointed that Australian tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis recently traveled to russia to lend his star power and credibility to a russian tennis tournament.
The event was sponsored by Gazprom, a state-owned oil and gas company which feeds the russian war machine and was sanctioned by the Australian Government in April 2022 following the full-scale russian invasion.
russia uses these types of sporting events as an exercise in ‘soft power’ to normalise russian aggression, project russian power and prestige, and promote a falsehood to the russian people that they are not isolated by the rest of the global community because of their brutal, illegal and immoral war.
By competing in russia, Mr Kokkinakis allowed himself to be exploited by russian propaganda, and appeared to show little concern for Ukraine and the impact of russia’s war on innocent Ukrainians.
We invite Mr Kokkinakis to spend an afternoon speaking to displaced Ukrainians in Australia to fully understand the impact of russia’s war on Ukraine. Maybe in this way he will be able to better appreciate why his actions are so hurtful to Australian-Ukrainians, along with Ukrainians worldwide.
AFUO Board member Chrestyna Kmetj spoke with ABC Melbourne radio yesterday to explain to Australians why Mr Kokkinakis’ actions were damaging and upsetting. Listen to the recording in the AFUO Newsroom: http://afuo.org.au/media/in-the-news/
