Mexican Soccer Star Set Off By Border Wall In Toys ‘R’ Us
Soccer star Miguel Layun was taken aback when he stepped into a Portugal-based Toys ‘R’ Us only to spot a miniature border wall bearing signs pointing to the “USA” and “Mexico.”
The professional footballer, who represents Mexico’s national and FC Porto club teams, took to Twitter to publicly denounce the franchise on Saturday (Feb. 25). “How sad that the @ToysRUs in [Vila Nova de] Gaia has this kind of decoration,” the soccer star wrote in Spanish. “We chose to leave when we saw this ‘joke.’”
Qué triste que el @ToysRUs en Gaia tenga este tipo de decoración. Optamos por salir cuando vimos esta “broma”. ✋? pic.twitter.com/Nxo5MrIStV
— Miguel Layun (@Miguel_layun) February 25, 2017
Layun extended his message to Instagram, where he slammed the display for promoting prejudices among children. His concerns did not go unnoticed and ultimately triggered an apology from the popular toy store.
“Please know that this is not who we are and we have immediately contacted the store management in Portugal to address this,” they wrote in a statement on Twitter. “Our deepest apologies for this offensive display. It’s been removed & the employees will be dealt with appropriately.”
@Miguel_layun Please know that this is not who we are and we have immediately contacted the store management in Portugal to address this
— ToysRUs (@ToysRUs) February 25, 2017
@Miguel_layun
Our deepest apologies for this offensive display. It’s been removed & the employees will be dealt with appropriately.— ToysRUs (@ToysRUs) February 25, 2017
While Layun said his goal wasn’t to get any employees terminated, he publicly thanked Toys ‘R’ Us for addressing the matter. “The idea was to show that respect is important, to show that it’s a delicate subject that is affecting and is generating difficult problems for many people,” he said. “So, it’s not a subject to play around with.”
De verdad solo pido que no haya ninguna pérdida de trabajo con lo ocurrido hoy. Gracias @ToysRUs pic.twitter.com/iVIe5dtH9b
— Miguel Layun (@Miguel_layun) February 25, 2017
