Filed complaint about shooting question against Lula – 02/27/2023 – Sport

The STJD (Superior Court of Sports Justice) of Volleyball filed a complaint made by the AGU (Attorney General of the Union) against the player Wallace, 35, of Sada Cruzeiro, for a publication that cited the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT ).

In a post on social media on January 30, Wallace, who has already played for the Brazilian national team and was an Olympic medalist, asked his followers who would shoot the president “in the face” with a 12-gauge shotgun. The athlete is suspended.

The player is a regular at shooting clubs, according to other publications on his social networks. After posing the question to his followers, and following negative reactions on the internet, Wallace deleted the question and posted a video stating that he never intended to incite violence.

In the complaint it made to the STJD, the AGU claims that Wallace “is not only a bad example”, but also a “bad athlete who must be reprimanded by the entire sports community”. The AGU legally represents the federal government.

In documentation sent to the CBV (Brazilian Volleyball Confederation) and to the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) about the player’s posting, the AGU stated that the player’s conduct constitutes incitement to crime “and is not covered by freedom of expression, as no one is authorized to commit a crime by invoking this fundamental freedom”.

Despite the STJD’s decision, the player will not be able to play for the club again, at least for now. The reason is that, after publication, the COB Ethics Council suspended the player indefinitely from all competitions that take place under his control.

Article 286 of the Penal Code defines the offense of inciting crime as the act of publicly encouraging the commission of a crime. The expected penalty is three to six months in prison.

The STDJ’s decision was taken after an opinion from the sports justice attorney’s office asking for the filing of the complaint. The understanding was that the case is not under the competence of the STJD, since the player made the comments in a moment of rest, outside, therefore, the work or sports environment.

At the same time, the person responsible for the opinion, attorney general of the STJD of Volleyball, Fábio Lira da Silva, regretted the publication of the athlete. “It is really sad to see the content of the posts made by an Olympic medalist who was so many times a source of pride for us Brazilians”, he said, in the opinion.

Sada Cruzeiro reported that it had already been officially informed of the STJD’s decision. In a note, the team said that it repudiates and does not condone any act that could mean incitement to violence. He also cited the “great responsibility that public figures and examples of sport carry”.

“The filing of the infraction notice is viewed positively by Sada Cruzeiro, as almost 30 days have passed since the incident, the player has suffered and is suffering the consequences of his error, and he shows regret”, said the club, in the positioning.

Sada Cruzeiro also said it expected the same understanding (from the STJD) regarding the suspension applied to the player by the COB.

The COB informed that it was not aware of the decision of the STJD. He pointed out, however, that the Ethics Council is an independent body and that the process is ongoing internally.