In the midst of accusations of cheating against the Canadian Olympic curling teams, the controversy has boiled over to affect those closest to the athletes.
Canada’s men’s curling team was accused by Sweden of double-touching stones – a fault that results in the removal of the stone from play.
After being accused by opponent Oskar Eriksson, Canada’s Marc Kennedy fired back with a profane outburst.
‘I haven’t done it once, you f*** off,’ Kennedy, a four-time Olympian, responded. ‘Don’t chirp.’ When Eriksson offered to show him a video of the potential violation, Kennedy told him to ‘f*** off’ once again.
Videos from the Olympics appear to show Kennedy double-touching stones from that match. Additionally, the curling team from Switzerland has accused Canada of double touches.
But off the ice, Kennedy’s wife has been the target of harassment on social media – which has led to a public response from Canadian curling officials.
The wife of Canadian curling star Marc Kennedy is being harrassed after his profane outburst
Kennedy was accused by Sweden of double-touching stones, to which he replied ‘f*** off’
But video replay appeared to show that Kennedy did, in fact, commit a double-touch
‘There has been some offside stuff that has come to (Kennedy’s) wife’s social media, which is crap,’ Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen told CBC.
‘These guys are human beings, and their families need to be left out of it.’
But the fallout from Kennedy’s profane tirade has led to condemnation from higher ups.
World Curling issued a statement saying they officially warned Canadian officials about the team’s language – adding that any ‘further inappropriate behavior’ could lead to a suspension.
While Sweden and Canada shook hands after the confrontation, the argument continued as Kennedy and Eriksson walked to their respective dressing rooms.
‘We want a game that is as sportsmanlike, honest and clean as possible,’ Eriksson said, in remarks translated from Swedish after the match.
Kennedy, meanwhile, called the claims ‘horses**t’ in the immediate aftermath of the match.
‘My whole life I’ve been a little bit like that if my integrity gets questioned. We’re human out there. Lots of emotions. No question I could’ve handled it better though,’ Kennedy told CBC on Sunday.
Kennedy and Team Canada are sitting second in the men’s round robin standings
In addition to the men, the Canadian women’s team has been accused of double-touches
Kennedy’s team is not the only Canadian curling unit accused of double touching.
In a women’s match between Canada and Switzerland, Canadian Rachel Homan had a stone removed due to a double-touch. Homan denied it, saying, ‘I’ve never done it in my life.’
Kennedy and the Canadian men’s team are second in the round-robin standings with a 5-1 record and are steaming towards a play-off appearance.
The Canadian women’s team is sixth in the round-robin after five games – with a record of 2-3 and plenty of work to do to fight for a medal.