Argentina: Rugby Players Sentenced for Murder

Image copyright: AFP [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

  • A court in the Argentinean town of Dolores has found eight amateur rugby players — who are now between the ages of 21 and 23 —guilty of the 2020 killing of aspiring law student Fernando Báez Sosa.

  • On Monday, Máximo Thomsen, Enzo Comelli, Matías Benicelli, Ciro Pertossi, and his brother Luciano Pertossi were convicted as co-perpetrators of homicide with premeditation and malice.


The Spin

Left narrative

The killing of Báez Sosa is a product of classism, racism, toxic masculinity, and violence that have long permeated Argentina's culture. Rugby's "herd mentality" and the normalization of cruelty also played a significant role. The debate should not be about whether the attackers are psychopaths, but rather about the society that has produced toxic conditions.

Right narrative

It's sad that a sport like a rugby is being exploited by some who espouse post-modern "woke" values to discuss virtue-signaling concepts such as "toxic masculinity." This assault was a tragedy and the focus should be on holding violent criminals accountable — not ideological grandstanding.


Articles on this story