Brazil Olympic TKD head upset with Anderson Silva
“The federation made this public. He goes there, speaks and then disappears. If this is really true, it was unethical. It’s not a professional thing to do.”
UFC G.O.A.T. Anderson Silva recently announced via his manager that he would no longer be trying out for the Brazilian Olympic Taekwondo Team. However, Carlos Fernandes, president of the Brazilian Taekwondo Federation (CBTKD), was not impressed how the withdrawal took place without communication.
“We didn’t receive any contact from Anderson,” said Fernandes to Esporte, as translated by Guilherme Cruz for MMAFighting.com. “In fact, to be honest, Anderson disappeared. We e-mailed him a few times, but he hasn’t responded, and we don’t know what’s going on. We never said he would participate in the Olympic Games, but that he would be on the tryouts. I think his manager committed a mistake about this. But he didn’t communicate to the federation directly. It’s a surprise for me.
“I think it would be more ethical if he said that directly to the federation because, when he said (he wanted to be in the Olympics), he did that by sending us a letter. But I can’t say this (decision about not trying out for the Olympics) came from him. I can say that we sent him three e-mails, and he didn’t respond. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Fernandes also questioned Silva’s initial interest.
“I don’t know if he did that because of the moment he was going through,” said the president, referencing Silva’s failure of multiple PED tests. “But this is not a joke. It’s not a fake theater. The truth is: he doesn’t respond our e-mails. Silence implies consent, right? If he’s not responding us, he’s watching the clock ticking.”
Fernandes also expressed dissatisfaction for Silva’s tenure as an ambassador for Brazilian Taekwondo.
“When we made him an ambassador, he came here and then disappeared,” said Fernandes. “I think an ambassador should be around. And then he shows up two years later. The federation made this public. He goes there, speaks and then disappears. If this is really true, it was unethical. It’s not a professional thing to do.”