Abodi tells Egonu embrace worth even more today

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 13 - Sports Minister Andrea Abodi told Paola Egonu that his embrace after she led Italy to a historic first women's volleyball Olympic gold medal was "worth even more today" after an anti-racism mural put up outside the Italian Olympic Committee HQ in Rome was defaced by vandals who painted over her black skin with pink paint.
    "Dear Paola, my embrace goes far beyond that special day and is even more valid today," he wrote on social media.
    "Respect and education are cultivated daily, to defeat ignorance, incivility and insensitivity.
    "Together".
    The installation, called Italian-ness, was meant to not only celebrate the Italian gold won by the women's volleyball team at the Paris Olympics but also to promote the battle against racism.
    The street art's name Italian-ness is a reference to right-wing League MEP General Roberto Vannacci's assertion in a bestselling book that Egonu's "somatic features do not represent Italian-ness".
    Veneto-born Egonu, 25, who has Nigerian parents, top scored in Sunday's Olympic final victory over reigning champions the USA to give Italy its first Olympic volleyball gold medal for either sex.
    The art by Laika shows Egonu spiking a ball bearing the words: "Stop to racism, hate, xenophobia, ignorance".
    The Roman street artist, who says she has been "fighting injustice" with her works in the Italian capital since 2019, said about her latest paste-up piece that it was against Vannacci and others who share his views.
    The vandalism was condemned by government and opposition politicians Tuesday. (ANSA).