Johannes Voigtmann reacted “as surprised as everyone else” to the nomination of the controversial professional basketball player Joshiko Saibou for the Supercup in Hamburg and threatened to withdraw from the national team.
“It has to come to an end here and now,” said the CSKA Moscow center on Thursday: “If not, I can no longer agree to be on the field with him.”
Saibou had caused head shaking in the previous year by participating in demos against the anti-corona measures and crude theses, after his appointment for the tournament on the weekend there was plenty of criticism. Voigtmann took a stand in a remarkable monologue.
Voigtmann: “We have to be very careful here”
“I hope everyone knows that we prefer an open society that is not characterized by extremism and any conspiracy theories,” said the former Frankfurt resident: “We try to give everyone their opinion. But opinion has a limit somewhere. Opinion stops somewhere , and hate speech and extremist thoughts begin. We have to be very careful. We as DBB (Deutscher Basketball Bund, d. Red.).”
Saibou has “got lost in matters that he has to clarify himself. The processing cannot be over yet,” said Voigtmann. The 31-year-old Saibou spoke up with a video on Wednesday and apologized for his behavior.
“The statement is okay. Nothing more and nothing less. There are still some positions open,” stated Voigtmann: “I tried to talk to him in order to understand his point of view. Why he has not yet distanced himself from all points of view Has.”
Saibou is “not avoided”
He has accepted that for himself “personally as an apology or explanation. It is an important cornerstone of our social coexistence that second chances are granted. There are not much more than two chances.”
If Saibou should try in his special position as a national player “to carry something in the same direction as we did, then I will say for myself personally that I am out of the national team,” said Voigtmann: “Or he will be kicked out.”
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The returnees are “not avoided, but it is also not the case that everyone falls into his arms and all conversations are the same as they used to be”. There are “still a few questions unanswered. Especially about conspiracy theories and groups with which he demonstrated.”
“We made big mistakes as an association,” said DBB Vice-President Armin Andres about the handling of the matter: “You can’t wipe that away. We would like to apologize for that.” The state of affairs and the scope were “somewhat underestimated”.
