Basketball professional Joshiko Saibou reacted with relief to the amicable settlement in the legal dispute with his Bundesliga club Telekom Baskets Bonn.
“It was exhausting months. Now I am relieved that these important things have been clarified and that I can focus fully on basketball again,” the 30-year-old told the German press agency by email.
The Bonners had terminated the Point Guard without notice for “violating the requirements of the current employment contract as a professional athlete” after it had participated in a demonstration against the state measures to contain the corona pandemic in Berlin. Saibou described the dismissal at the time as a “slap in the face of freedom of expression” and filed a lawsuit.
Saibou has now also announced details of the agreement for the first time. “It is now clear to both sides that by taking part in the demo I have acted within the scope of my freedom of expression and have not violated any player obligations,” wrote the athlete. “In addition, it was made clear that by participating in a public demo without wearing a full mouth-nose cover, I might have exposed myself to an increased risk of infection. Even though I followed distance rules at the demo at the time and were known to be over There was no team training for weeks. “
With the agreement between the player and the club, an announcement date set for November 25th by the court has become obsolete. The chamber had recently proposed nine monthly salaries for the contract, which was still running for eleven months at the time of termination. Previously, the association had offered four months’ salary at a quality meeting. The Baskets had announced that they had agreed not to disclose the content of the settlement.
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