“大家好，”

“近期我有意地遠離了社交媒體，為的是等待末場大獎賽的風波稍微平息?！?/p>

“我在阿布扎比的退賽，引發(fā)了一系列的情況，而這些情況又引起了廣泛討論。私信和公開評論加起來，我的社媒總共收到了上萬條消息，大部分是支持鼓勵的，但也不乏仇恨辱罵的言論?！?/p>

“我一直在想，怎樣才是回應這件事的最佳方式呢？我該當作無事發(fā)生嗎？還是選擇發(fā)聲，給自己帶來更大的麻煩呢？畢竟社媒的現(xiàn)狀讓人悲哀?！?/p>

“這不是一份官方聲明，不是提前寫好的，而是我的心里話。我希望這些話能引發(fā)社會對網(wǎng)絡暴凌的討論，對事件當事人所受影響的討論。我要對這些行為說不，通過社媒仇視、辱罵、暴力威脅他人，是不能被接受的?！?/p>

“回到比賽周。當方格旗揮動的時候，我就已經(jīng)能想到社媒上會是怎樣一番景象。我下意識地覺得要把Instagram和推特卸載幾天。會有這樣的反應，也正說明網(wǎng)絡世界能是很可怕的?！?/p>

“隨之而來的仇恨、侮辱、威脅，對我來說甚至一點也不意外。因為這就是現(xiàn)代人的生存現(xiàn)狀。我對負面評論早就習以為常，相信所有在國際舞臺上的體育人也都是。這些無時不在的審視的目光，好像也成了生活的一部分。”

“可這樣的事已經(jīng)發(fā)生太多次了，沒有一項運動能夠幸免。只需一個錯誤的時間點，一個小事件也能改變整個事態(tài)。而這時，這項運動的所謂'粉絲'們，就會露出自己的陰暗面。其實真正讓我震驚的，是這些言辭之極端，是口吻偏激的仇恨言論、辱罵、甚至對我的死亡威脅?！?/p>

“回顧這場比賽，我覺得我唯一需要為DNF而道歉的，是我的車隊，而我當場也這么做了。之后的所有事，就完全不在我的掌控之中了?！?/p>

“有人會說，比賽沒剩幾圈了，你還拼這個沒意義的完賽名次干什么？但是對我來說，不管是為了冠軍，為了領獎臺，為了積分而拼搏，還是跑在最后一位，我都會全力拼搏直到?jīng)_線。在這點上，所有的車手都和我一樣。即便有你不理解不贊同，我也無所謂。我尊重你的立場。但有人利用這些，煽動仇恨、侮辱，和暴力威脅。不僅是針對我，還針對我身邊最親近的人。這些人，不是真的愛這項運動?！?/p>

“好在，我對自己足夠篤定，也被歷練得夠久，久到能很好地處理消極情緒。但負面評論依舊很刺眼。我也不免地感到，就連一百條積極的評論都中和不了一條惡評。”

“大家有自己的想法，都很正常。而運動員，作為公眾審視的焦點，臉皮也會變厚一些，但我上周收到的很多評論，真的嚴重越界了。我不禁想，如果是其他人受到這樣程度的攻擊，他們會有何反應？這些少數(shù)人的一時嘴快，憑什么要由別人來買單？”

“上周的事情讓我明白，我們應當共同攜手。一起阻止這些行為，一起支持當事人。我可能改變不了他們。也許他們之前怎么對我，之后就仍然如此，甚至會用這段話來做文章。但我知道我該回擊，不能再沉默。”

“對于始終支持我的人和粉絲們，我衷心感謝。讀到你們的信息，我很感激。知道有那么多人支持我，我很開心?！?/p>

“體育的本質(zhì)是競爭，但體育也應讓我們團結(jié)，而非日漸分隔。如果我的分享，我的敦促，能幫到哪怕一個人，那就是值得的。”

“新年將至，我誠摯盼望這段阿布扎比站后的經(jīng)歷能給大家以思考。而我的新年計劃，就是努力去推動一些改變。愿人人都多一分善意吧！”

“祝愿大家節(jié)日快樂，平安健康，期盼2022與大家一同回歸賽場的時刻?！?/p>

Nicky?

原文

A MESSAGE AFTER THE EVENTS OF ABU DHABI

2021-12-21? Nicholas Latifi

Hi everyone,

I’ve?purposely been staying away from social media to kind of let things settle down from the events of the last race.

A lot has been made of the situation that came about after my retirement in Abu Dhabi. I’ve received thousands of messages to my social media accounts – publicly and via DMs. Most have been supportive, but there’s been a lot of hate and abuse, too.

I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to go about handling this. Do I ignore it and carry on? Or do I address it and tackle the bigger issue that is sadly a reality when you use social media?

This isn’t some scripted statement, but rather me speaking my mind in the hope that this maybe sparks another conversation about online bullying and the drastic consequences it can have on people. Using social media as a channel to attack somebody with messages of hate, abuse and threats of violence is shocking – and something I am calling out.

Going back to the race weekend, as soon as the checkered flag dropped, I knew how things were likely to play out on social media. The fact that I felt it would be best if I deleted Instagram and Twitter on my phone for a few days says all we need to know about how cruel the online world can be.

The ensuing hate, abuse, and threats on social media were not really a surprise to me as it’s just the stark reality of the world we live in right now. I’m no stranger to being talked about negatively online, I think every sports person who competes on the world stage knows they’re under extreme scrutiny and this comes with the territory sometimes.

But as we’ve seen time and time again, across all different sports, it only takes one incident at the wrong time to have things completely blown out of proportion and bring out the worst in people who are so-called ‘fans’ of the sport. What shocked me was the extreme tone of the hate, abuse, and even the death threats I received.

Reflecting on what happened during the race, there was really only one group of people I needed to apologize to for the DNF: my team. I did that right afterwards. Everything else that followed was out of my control.

Some people said I was racing for a position that didn’t matter with only a handful of laps remaining. But whether I am racing for wins, podiums, points or even last place, I will always give it my all until the checkered flag. I’m the same as every other driver on the grid in that regard. To the people who don’t understand or don’t agree with that, that’s fine with me. You can have your opinion. But to use those opinions to fuel hatred, abuse and threats of violence, not only to me, but to those closest to me as well, tells me these people are not true fans of the sport.

Thankfully, I’m comfortable enough in my own skin, and I’ve been in this world long enough that I can do a pretty good job of just letting any negativity wash over me. But I know I’m not alone in thinking that a negative comment always seems to stick out more – and can sometimes be enough to drown out 100 positive ones.

People will have their opinions, and that’s fine. Having a thick skin is a huge part of being an athlete, especially when you are constantly in a position to be scrutinized. But many of the comments I received last week crossed the line into something far more extreme. It concerns me how somebody else might react if this same level of abuse was ever directed at them. No one should let the activities of a vocal minority dictate who they are.

Events in the last week have made me see how important it is to work together to stop this kind of thing happening and to support those on the receiving end. I realize I’m unlikely to convince those who acted in this way towards me to change their ways – and they may even try to use this message against me – but it’s right to call out this kind of behavior and not stay silent.

To all the fans and people that did have my back during this whole situation, I want to say a huge thank you. I’ve seen and read a lot of your messages and they are much appreciated. It’s nice to know I have so many people supporting me.

Sport is by its very nature competitive – but it should bring people together, not drive them apart. If sharing my thoughts, and highlighting the need for action, helps just one person, then it was worth it.

As we look forward to the New Year, I truly hope my experiences after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix help reinforce that message, and my New Year’s resolution is to look at ways I can support that process. Just be kind everyone!

I want to wish you all happy holidays, stay safe, and I look forward to all of us getting back on track in 2022.

Nicky