Antonio Tiberi is going through one of the most complicated moments of his life and his professional career after it became known this Tuesday that the Italian cyclist killed a cat while testing a shotgun in San Marino, in a gesture that sparked outrage from fans and ended with Trek-Segafredo announcing that the rider was suspended from employment and salary for the next 20 days.
A Tiberi who, as a result of the controversy that arose and after the Trek-Segafredo announcement, decided to publish a statement on his social networks as a sign of repentance for his disgusting action. “I am deeply sorry for my shameful acts. I did something tremendously stupid and irresponsible, of a seriousness and danger that I only realized after that act. There are no excuses. There is no ‘if’ or ‘but’. I am responsible for my actions and accept the consequences. I have not spoken publicly about the incident before because I felt ashamed.”
The cyclist also wanted to apologize to the fans and to the Minister of San Marino, Federico Pedini Amati, who was the owner of the murdered cat for adoption. “I understand the anger that many people feel now. There is nothing I can do but apologize to them and to my team, which has been hit hard in this incident. My conduct was not what is required of an athlete and less of a person and a human being. I also want to apologize to the Minister of San Marino, Federico Pedini Amati, for the emotional damage I caused him, and also to the citizens of San Marino.”
To try to correct his mistake, Tiberi himself has announced that all the profits from his races will go to animal care associations in San Marino, in addition to helping as a volunteer in them. “Apologies are worthless without action. For this reason, I will donate all my monetary prizes this season to animal care associations in San Marino, with the help and collaboration of the local government. Also, I will be helping as a volunteer in person to these organizations.”
Finally, Tiberi hopes with these gestures to repair the damage caused by this incident. “I realized that these gestures have only come now, after the incident. I hope that, with these steps, I can repair some of the damage and injuries that I caused. I made a big mistake and I think the only thing I can do is redeem myself from it.”. A Tiberi that will be marked among the fans by this sad fact, which he hopes to turn the page on soon to focus on a promising professional career that has been stopped suddenly by this unfortunate incident.