Editorial

REPORT: Team USA Paintball Player Jessica Maiolo Kicked Off The Team After Coronavirus Vaccine Comment

OPINION
Jessica Maiolo (Credit: Screenshot/Twitter Video https://twitter.com/rx0rcist/status/1423716870599884800)

Jessica Maiolo (Credit: Screenshot/Twitter Video https://twitter.com/rx0rcist/status/1423716870599884800)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Jessica Maiolo has reportedly been kicked off the Team USA paintball squad.

According to Outkick, Maiolo was removed from the squad after a video made the rounds of her suggesting a teenager in the hospital because of coronavirus needed a treadmill more than the vaccine. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)

TikTok user RX0rcist brought Maiolo’s comments to everyone’s attention and vowed to message the Team USA paintball squad until she was thrown off. You can check out RX0rcist’s video below.

Following the video blowing up, Team USA released a statement announcing that Maiolo was gone. “We try to respect every individual’s right to have opinions and express them personally. Our investigation into the troubling conduct of Ms. Maiolo has been concluded and we have decided to remove her from the team indefinitely,” the team said in a statement, according to the same Outkick report.

This whole situation is so cringe that it’s hard to put into words how stupid it is. Should Maiolo have made a wisecrack about a teenager in the hospital?

Probably not a smart idea given the sensitive nature of people on the internet. People love to be outraged and joking about a hospitalized teen is going to give them plenty of ammo.

As for RX0rcist, what an absolutely terrible and awful thing for her to do. Imagine committing your time and energy to making sure a Team USA paintball player loses their roster spot over a vaccine comment.

As foolish as what Maiolo might have done was, it was nothing more than a mistake she should have apologized for. What RX0rcist did by bringing it to everyone’s attention and then bragging about committing herself to getting Maiolo cut is way worse.

If you spend time and energy focused on making sure someone loses their job over a comment you didn’t like, then you’re just a bitter and angry loser. It’s that simple.

This country is coming apart at the seams and attacking people’s livelihoods over a vaccine comment is just downright insanity. What Maiolo did was foolish. The response and reaction was a thousand times worse.