[ad_1]
“Huawei regrets to announce that we have decided to release Therese Johaug from the partnership agreement with immediate effect to allow her to focus all her energy on what should be her goal, namely to remain the best cross-country skier in the world,” he said. in a statement the company NRK has received on Thursday evening.
“We have always greatly appreciated the collaboration with Therese and look forward to collaborating in the future. We wish her all the best for the future.”
RELEASED: Manager Jørn Ernst and Therese Johaug, pictured here together during the Seefeld WC in 2019.
Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
Johaug’s manager, Jørn Ernst, writes the following in a text message to NRK:
– We highly appreciate that Huawei takes great responsibility and released Therese from the cooperation agreement, so that she can fully concentrate on sports.
– We greatly appreciate the cooperation we have had with Huawei as a company and the people we have met there, he says, and he does not want to comment on the subject beyond that.
“I had a good dialogue”
NRK met with Johaug on Thursday morning regarding the national cross-country ski team meeting at Mosetertoppen in Hafjell. At the time, Johaug did not respond to any questions related to the Huawei deal, saying only that the parties “had a good dialogue.”
Cross-country coach Espen Bjervig also declined to comment heavily on the Johaug deal, saying it “depends on the athletes who they will partner with and which actors they will work with.”
WORK FIELD MANAGER: Espen Bjervig, pictured here during a meeting earlier this year.
Photo: Geir Olsen / Geir Olsen
Facial recognition system
A few hours later, it was clear that the deal would end.
Over the past week, criticism has been hailed against Johaug as a result of her having a deal with Huawei. The latest in a series of alarming incidents surrounding the company involved the Chinese company testing facial recognition software that can identify the group of persecuted Uighurs.
The report was presented by the IPVM organization and shared with the Washington Post.
The report describes a system that can trigger an “Uyghur alarm” if Huawei’s video surveillance systems detect people from the targeted group. The report was removed from the website after the company was contacted, but they confirmed that the document was real.
– It’s a shame
Minerva commentator Jan Arild Snoen knew that Johaug should break the deal with Huawei as a result of the latest revelation in the Washington Post.
For VG, he believed that the naivety associated with sticking to the Huawei deal was based on one thing: making money. In conclusion, he delivered in the same newspaper a very harsh characteristic of Johaug:
– I think it is completely reprehensible that it continues like this. It’s just a shame that an athlete is so deaf to the world around him, Snoen thought.
