Australian Olympic Committee Levies Penalty Against Nick D’Arcy, Kenrick Monk; Swimming Australia Supports Decision

SYDNEY, Australia, June 9. JUST days after news broke that Swimming Australia forced Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk to take down Facebook pictures in which the duo posed with guns in the United States, the Australian Olympic Committee has levied a penalty against the two.

The two will only be allowed to be at the 2012 London Olympics during the swimming portion of the event, and will be sent home immediately following their swims. Meanwhile, the two have been banned from all social media posting until after the Olympics.

Swimming Australia released a statement in support of the ban.

Swimming Australia supports the Australian Olympic Committee's decision to discipline Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk over their poor judgement and inappropriate use of social media this week.

Swimming Australia CEO Kevin Neil said the decision by the AOC is a timely reminder for all team members of their responsibilities as representatives of the Australian Swim Team.

“This was a case of extremely poor judgement and through our own Social Media Guidelines, we acted quickly to ask the athletes to remove the images from their social media accounts,” said Neil.

“We will be speaking with the athletes involved further about this matter, and reminding them about their responsibilities as representatives of the Australian Swim Team.”

“This is also a timely reminder to all members of the Australian Swim Team that it is an honour to swim for your country and with it comes clear responsibilities in and out of the pool.”

Swimming Australia still has an internal process to follow in relation to the matter, and the next step in that process will be a meeting with the athletes involved on Monday.

Swimming Australia will be making no further comment on the matter until its own internal processes are complete.

The photo censorship and subsequent punishments stem from the fact that Australia has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world. Many in the U.S. and around the world have wondered what the big deal was with the images to begin with. It would be similar to if a U.S. swimmer posted a picture smoking marijuana while in a part of the world where it is legal.

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