An Olympic surfing judge from Australia has been removed from the judging panel for the remainder of the competition after a photo circulated online of him interacting with an Australian athlete and team coach outside of the competition venue. The International Surfing Association (ISA) said that the photo raised "eyebrows" and that it is inappropriate for a judge to be interacting with an athlete and their team in this manner. The ISA said that the decision was made in accordance with its code of conduct and the International Olympic Committee's code of ethics.
An Olympic surfing judge from Australia has been removed from the judging panel for the remainder of the competition after a photo circulated online of him interacting with an Australian athlete and team coach outside of the competition venue.
Olympic Surfing Judge Removed for Interacting with Competitor
The International Surfing Association (ISA) said that the photo raised "eyebrows" and that it is inappropriate for a judge to be interacting with an athlete and their team in this manner. The ISA said that the decision was made in accordance with its code of conduct and the International Olympic Committee's code of ethics.
The surfing competitions are taking place in Tahiti, a French Polynesian island that's nearly 3,000 miles east of Australia and nearly 10,000 miles away from Paris.
Olympic Surfing Judge Removed for Interacting with Competitor
The judge, Benjamin Lowe, was removed from the judging panel on Thursday. He had been judging the men's and women's shortboard competitions.
The ISA said in a statement that it is "aware of a photo circulating on social media in which one of the Olympic surfing judges from Australia is seen socially interacting with an Australian athlete and the team manager."
Olympic Surfing Judge Removed for Interacting with Competitor
"It is inappropriate for a judge to be interacting in this manner with an athlete and their team," the ISA said.
The ISA said that it had "communicated with all judges and teams to remind them of their responsibilities regarding appropriate behavior."
The athlete in the photo, Ethan Ewing, told Stab Mag that he had been "copping some hate" online since the photo was posted.
"I really don't know the story or have any insight on it," Ewing said. "It's sad for sure."
Ewing lost his quarterfinal match to fellow Australian Jack Robinson, 15.33 to 13.00.
This is hardly the lone controversy at the Games. A boxer who previously was barred from last year's world championships for failing a gender test has dominated the women's 66-kilogram division.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
