After Bebeto de Freita’s death, Brazilian politician Cesar Maia proposed a tribute to the legendary volleyball player by naming Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Arena after him. Although the family thanked Cesar intentions they did not approve of the idea due to the fact that there are allegations of financial irregularities on the construction of the arena (Globo.com):
“Maia did not contact us. I don’t have nothing against him. I don’t think his intentions are bad, on the contrary, I think they are great. But the place for the tribute in itself is not appropriate. It’s simple, really. To celebrate someone in a tribute of so large scale, there needs to be some kind of meaning. For my father, the meaning of the arena is the worst possible one, corruption. That is something my father fought against his whole life. If someday the arena goes through a complete financial audit, then it’s something that I could think about.” – Bebeto’s son and beach volleyball coach Rico Freitas
It makes sense that Bebeto’s family would think this way. As of right now Brazil is going through a lot of political turmoil, with corruption scandals erupting every other day. The legendary volleyball coach left volleyball for after his tremendous success because of his constant conflicts regarding institutional politics in Brazil’s volleyball federation.
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