Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus’ Paralympic Committee condemned MEP and social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou after he described Paralympians with intellectual disabilities as “loonies” during a podcast episode. The comment was made while para swimmer Loizos Chrysanthou appeared as a guest.
Committee condemnation
The committee said it “condemns in the most categorial manner the offensive, derogatory, and deeply regressive comment,” made as Chrysanthou was discussing Paralympic classification categories. It said Panayiotou’s characterisation was “not open to interpretation.”
It added that the term is “abusive, stigmatising, and offensive to thousands.”
Context of the podcast exchange
Chrysanthou explained his own classification category, S10, which concerns swimmers with disabilities impacting their legs. He has polyneuropathy, described as a dysfunction of peripheral nerves that can cause numbness and muscle weakness in the feet and hands, among other symptoms.
Chrysanthou told Panayiotou that classification “has to do with movement, endurance, strength, which obviously impact performance,” and said there are 14 categories for para swimmers. Referring to S14, he said it concerns “mental problems, of the brain, obviously,” after which Panayiotou responded, “S14, you said, for the loonies?”
Call for acknowledgement and broader response
The committee said such language cannot be described as “inappropriate timing” or “humour,” calling it an insult to people with intellectual disabilities, athletes facing prejudice and exclusion, and the paralympic movement.
It said that given Panayiotou’s position as an MEP, “the issue is not simply moral, it is deeply political and institutional.” The committee called on Panayiotou to publicly acknowledge his mistake and to take a position that promotes respect and awareness, and urged society and the media to help cultivate “a culture of socialisation and equal integration of people with disabilities.”
How should public figures address disability and inclusion when discussing Paralympic sport?
