In front of the press, the French Basketball Federation held a media briefing this afternoon to take stock of the women’s EuroBasket. On the menu in particular: the case of Marine Johannès, who had been excluded from the France group for having been in the United States to sign her seasonal contract in the WNBA just before the preparation. On this subject, the FFBB has confirmed that it is not changing the rule, according to the team.
We were waiting for the French Basketball Federation to comment on the women’s EuroBasket, at the end of which the French team finished third. A disappointing result after reading the words of Jean-Aimé Toupane, the coach, before the competition. The technician then said that any other result than the title would be a failure. During the competition, the Bleues had to do without Marine Johannès, the current best tricolor player.
The reason ? A WNBA contract. The player’s request, which was to sign her contract with the New York Liberty before joining the selection, had been refused. The sequence of events – end of the French championship, start of preparation – being too short, the player had been excluded from the group for having finally made the trip across the Atlantic.
The FFBB thus recognized a communication problem in its remarks before the competition. The dismissal of Johannès had indeed stirred up a large part of French basketball, starting with Tony Parker and Nicolas Batum, owners of ASVEL Féminin, the player’s club.
“We made mistakes on both sides, we could have had clearer communication. Things could have been done better. The extent of this controversy shocked me, but we took no one by surprise, these are choices and the girls joined this project. – Céline Dumerc, general manager of the team, via l’Équipe.
Regarding next year, which will be that of the Olympic Games in Paris, the Federation went back on its declarations, which affirmed that Johannès also jeopardized his selection for the queen international competition. Marine will therefore be able to claim a selection, but the rules concerning the WNBA will remain the same. If a player signs a WNBA contract, she will not be competing.
“The whole group will be eligible. It will then be up to the staff to make their choices. But if a player goes to the WNBA first, she won’t be on the team. Jean-Pierre Siutat, president of the Federation, via the Team.
The abscess is partially burst, no longer remains for each party involved to take note of the comments made, and to ensure that the Paris Olympic Games are a great basketball celebration, with no one absent in the French team.
Source: the Team.
2023-07-05 17:01:00
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