COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Stephanie Hightower, president and CEO of the Columbus Urban League, issued a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump on Friday, following a social media post from the White House that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama using racist tropes.
The post, which compared the Obamas to apes, was removed following widespread condemnation from both Democratic and Republican leaders. As of Saturday morning, the president has not issued an apology for the imagery.
Hightower, a former Olympian and current chair of the World Athletic Gender Task Force, said the rhetoric creates a moral crisis for American athletes currently competing on the world stage—including those with local ties to The Ohio State University and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“The latest post by the White House places our 2026 Olympians in an untenable position for all the wrong reasons,” Hightower said in a statement. “These gifted, incredibly dedicated athletes… now stand on a world stage where they will be asked, ‘Do you agree with a leader who uses his voice to denigrate and demean other leaders using long recognized racist caricatures?’”
Hightower drew a parallel to her own experience in 1980, when she lost the opportunity to compete for an Olympic gold medal due to the U.S. boycott of the Moscow games. While she was disappointed then, she noted that the boycott was a stand for “justice and freedom.” In contrast, she argued the current controversy forces athletes to defend “the most basic of American principles” against their own government’s rhetoric.
The Columbus Urban League leader emphasized that the racist tropes used do not reflect her view of the country’s core values.
“I know that America is a country where we respect and appreciate all people,” Hightower said. “We can do better than this.”
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The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the statement or the decision to delete the post.
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