On Twitter, Evan Fournier announced that he had been received this Sunday morning by Jean-Michel Blanquer, the Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports of the French government.
In what honor ? In fact, the new Knicks player had criticized the words of the minister, who had explained the successful campaigns of the basketball, handball and volleyball teams at the Olympics by the quality of the PE lessons. Several players had taken this for political recovery, while recalling that it was mainly thanks to associations and clubs that France could count on sportsmen and athletes of great quality.
“Like my teammates and many other athletes, I wonder about your enthusiasm”, had replied the basketball player in a column published on the Huffington Post, making himself one of the most virulent sportsmen to respond to the statements of Jean-Michel Blanquer. “You have indeed praised the French performances by congratulating you on the work carried out by your ministry, and the impact that would be on these performances. It is minimal. Like many athletes, you will understand, I do not share your point of view. None of my teammates can today thank the National Education for allowing him to play basketball. Like volleyball or handball, if these team sports are sometimes practiced, it is not to encourage young people to play sports, but for simple convenience. We all understand that a gymnasium makes it possible to practice several activities and to diversify the programs. But above all, it makes it possible to make up for the lack of budget allocated to sport, and by default offers certain activities to students. “
A “constructive and interesting” exchange
The former player of the Nuggets and Orlando had assured that France should be inspired by the United States.
“Congratulating our athletes every four years is no longer enough, let’s instead help them to reveal themselves from an early age. […] The American system – and it is not the only one – is a model in sports matters. In the United States, the school system offers privileged access to sport with real recognition for its athletes from an early age! Although imperfect, it allows ambitious young athletes to continue their studies, with the granting of scholarships in the most prestigious universities in the country. This university system is doubly beneficial since it offers a real possibility for certain young people to become professional sportsmen without abandoning their studies. It makes sport a real social and educational vector. “
Jean-Michel Blanquer immediately reached out to the French basketball player, a recent silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, offering him a meeting to discuss the place of sport at school.
“Evan Fournier’s forum converges with what I wanted to say: thanks to the momentum of the Olympic Games, we are going to take a new step in favor of sport at school” he had said. “This is what we have started to do by deploying the Pass’Sport, by creating the Generation 2024 label, the 30 minutes of daily physical activity, by adapting certain specialties of the professional baccalaureate to sports professions, by multiplying the sections sports… It’s a good debate that will allow progress to be made, because the sporting culture is not strong enough in France. “
An encounter “Constructive and interesting”, according to Evan Fournier, which therefore took place today.
I was received this morning by @jmblanquer at the Ministry of National Education. An exchange on the place of sport at school, its future & support for athletes.
It was constructive and interesting!
We plan to continue the reflection in the coming months. Wait & see pic.twitter.com/00QNZQuPsn— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) September 5, 2021
