Support pours in for volleyball player Ebrar Karakurt, who removed a photo of herself with her girlfriend following attacks on social media

The volleyball player for Turkey’s National Team, Ebrar Karakurt became the target of homophobic attacks after she posted a photo of herself with her girlfriend on her Instagram account. After the attacks, Karakurt deleted her post and received messages of support from many sections, in particular from volleyball players.

The messages of support were shared under the hashtag "#EbrarKarakurt" and began trending as top tweets in Turkey.

In addition to the thousands of users who tweeted that Karakurt was discriminated against, Turkey’s famous artists such as Leman Sam, Gökhan Özbek, Armağan Çağlayan, Sarp Apak and a Member of Parliament Sera Kadıgil expressed their support for the player.

Naz Aydemir Akyol, who also plays for the Turkish National Voleyball Team expressed her support by saying, "No matter what is said, one of the most important things everyone should know is that Ebrar will not be obsessed with anything that is said about her! She just wants to be able to do her job in the best way. The rest is none of my business, nor yours, or anyone else's!".

Another Voleyball player Gizem Güreşen, further said that "Who cares. People should live the way they want to live. It's nobody's business... we love you #EbrarKarakurt" and "You failed to learn that you can not interfere in others lives".

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FROM NATIONAL TEAMS’ PRESS SECRETARY

Turkish Volleyball Federation Board Member and Press Secretary in charge of National Teams, Kurtaran Mumcu made a statement via voleybolmagazin.com. The statement said, "Ebrar Karakurt, is one of the most important and promising players that Turkish Volleyball has raised. Ebrar is a brave a courageous player who has the spirit of a warrior on the field, she is a resilient athlete who pours her sweat to the last drop to represent her country and its flag in the best way. Everyone’s personal life is their own business".

SUPPORT FOR EBRAR FROM ECZACIBASI

Eczacıbaşı Sport Club made a declaration through their Twitter account. The subject statement read, "The
Important points to consider are the athlete’s respect for the sport and the struggle they put out on the field. Everyone deserves #respectforprivacy". (EVRENSEL DAILY)