Turkey’s Alperen Şengün and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo have walked back controversial remarks made after EuroBasket games, replacing them with conciliatory statements and a joint call for unity through sports.
Following the semifinal game between the two countires on Sep 12, Şengün posted a story on Instagram with the message “Doesn’t the sea breeze feel good?” a reference to a common nationalist slur in Turkey targeting Greek people, derived from history textbooks describing Greek forces being “pushed into the sea” after the Turkish War of Independence. The Aegean Sea lies between Turkey and Greece, and the war’s final battles took place near Turkey’s Aegean shores.
On Sep 14, following Greece’s win over Finland in the third-place game, Antetokounmpo reacted during a livestream to a viewer displaying a Turkish flag with an insulting remark, which quickly spread on social media. Antetokounmpo’s wife, Mariah, shared a message she received from a fan from Turkey who threatened to kill her entire family.
The two players yesterday retracted their remarks. “My post after Greece game was a communication mistake. I have great respect for Greek people. No offense was ever intended,” Şengün wrote.
Antetokounmpo also shared a message, saying, “During my feed, I made an inappropriate comment responding to somebody that was making disrespectful remarks. My intention was never to offend anyone. And I’m deeply sorry. I have nothing but love and respect for Turkey and people all around the world.”
They also released a joint post featuring a photo of them embracing after the semifinal, accompanied by the Turkish and Greek flag emojis. “We play for the love of our countries. We play for the love of the game. We play with respect. We always remember sports are made to unite us not divide us,” the caption read.
Previously, the Turkish Basketball Federation had also retracted social media posts which had a photo of Cedi Osman and Giannis Antetokounmpo with the caption “no mercy” following protests from the Greek Basketball Federation and FIBA.
After defeating Greece convincingly, Turkey went on to face Germany in the final, losing 88-83 and finishing as runner-up for the first time since 2001. Şengün was one of Turkey’s standout performers throughout the tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team. (VK)
Source: BIANET
