Canadian speedskater Brittany Schussler has landed in hot water after she posted a selfie on Twitter of herself posing with Russian President Vlladimir Putin.

Putin, who is arguably the most controversial figure of these 2014 Winter Olympics, made the rounds on the night of Friday, Feb. 14, visiting both Canada House and USA House. As host, Putin welcomed the athletes to his country, met a few athletes and carried on with his night.

After Putin’s visit, Schussler, a speedskater who specializes in the 1,500-meter race, shared the photo with the caption “I should have asked him to be my Valentine.”

The tweet has since been deleted, but others copied the photo and have circulated it online.

The tweet soon became a lightning rod for angry viewers and supporters who saw Schussler’s picture and casual accompanying tweet as agreement with his political views, specifically his intolerance towards the LGBT community. Schussler quickly deleted the offending tweet and photo and apologized, Tweeting, “To be clear I was joking + in no way want to be misconstrued as supporting his values.”

Still, any were not pleased, and Schussler has found herself on the receiving end of angry insults, with some painting her as an uninformed bigot.

When people criticized her for deleting the photo, Schussler stood by her decision, saying that she deleted it because she did not want to cause anybody more pain.

“I never want to offend anyone so there’s no harm in deleting it. I believe everyone should live their lives freely,” she wrote.

Schussler, who is still competing in Sochi, has not released further comment on the controversy, though that may not be by choice. Schussler contacted Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press for an interview, writing, “I would never intentionally hurt or offend anyone.” However, the interview was cancelled by Speed Skating Canada.

“For athletes that are still competing, there won’t be media availability outside the mixed zone and in-venue obligations until after their last event, which is the case for all team pursuit skaters,” Speed Skating Canada explained.

It’s worth noting that Schussler is not the only athlete who posted casual or joking photos of Putin on Twitter that night. Canadian hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser also posted a photo of the controversial president, though it was not a selfie.

Wickenhelser also received some critical tweets, but Schussler, whose selfie landed her on the cover of the Winnipeg Free Press on Saturday, has overshadowed Wickenbelser’s photo.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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