Team USA Olympic chiropractor apologizes after comparing Covid-19 restrictions to ‘Nazi Germany’

Rosie Gallegos-Main, who has worked with Team USA's women's wrestling team since 2009, has issued a public apology after she likened Covid-19 restrictions to Nazi Germany in a social media post.

Gallegos-Main's offending post said that "we went from ‘Flattening the curve in 14 days’ to ‘Going door-to-door to see your papers’... Gotta admit, I did N-A-Z-I that one coming."

It was subsequently flagged by Facebook and Instagram, both of whom accused Gallegos-Main of spreading Covid-19 disinformation.

She quickly moved to delete the post in question shortly after it was highlighted by the Associated Press to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) on Tuesday, who swiftly moved to condemn Gallegos-Main's comments. 

“The USOPC does not condone or tolerate any behavior that intentionally offends or attacks others,” the USOPC said in a statement Wednesday.

"The post that this volunteer shared is completely inconsistent with our values and we made this clear to her as soon as we became aware of it.

"As shown through her prompt removal of the share and her apology, she has shown clear remorse and committed to an educational process with DE&I experts.

"The USOPC will work with USA Wrestling to see that she gets that educational resource and understands our organization’s shared global purpose of building a better, more inclusive world through sport."

Gallegos-Main is currently at USA Wrestling’s pre-Olympic training camp Nakatsugawa, Japan, and while she isn't an official member of the United States' Olympics delegation, this summer's Games represents her third Olympics in which she is assisting in the preparation of the country's female wrestling program.

After feeling the heat from her Olympic superiors, Gallegos-Main announced that she was sorry for issuing the controversial post and said that she "did not put any thought into how the ending of the meme might affect others."

She added that she was was attempting to put "an emphasis on coercion by authorities, rather than anything to do with Germany and the Jewish people."

"I now see that these are linked and can’t be separated,” she explained. "I will never use this word again in any form that does not have a proper foundation for its usage, such as in a history lesson or in educating people about the past.

"I’m deeply saddened by this and wish to apologize for my poor judgment and my choice to share this message. I am also sorry that this may have been a distraction for the delegation which should be focused on supporting our athletes to the best of our ability."

It was also reported that Gallegos-Main will be instructed to attend diversity, equity and inclusion training.

The Tokyo Olympics officially starts on Friday but some events, such as the women's football tournament, began on Wednesday under the specter of a deteriorating Covid-19 situation in the Japanese capital. 

Around 22,000 athletes, coaches and support staff have travelled to Tokyo for the Games, and are living under strict guidelines designed to mitigate the spread of the virus from fellow athletes and the general Tokyo populace.

Currently just 21.6% of the the total Japanese population of around 126 million have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. 

Among the guidelines in place, visitors must provide a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to travelling to Tokyo and will continue to be tested throughout the event. They are also required to limit exposure to Japanese citizens for the first 14 days after their arrival.