By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Greek national team great Sofoklis Schortsanitis commented on the ruling of a Greek court that the far-right, neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn is guilty of running a criminal organization, saying that it’s a decision that simply states the obvious.
That’s why it’s not be celebrated, but there must be an understanding of why such a court case took so long in order to happen and why the society – in Greece in this particular case – tolerates racism.
“We haven’t shown that we don’t tolerate such a behavior [racism], as a society,” Schortsanitis said during the most recent Eurohoops Show.
“For example, Golden Dawn. It’s something obvious. Isn’t it something obvious? Because all I know is that when they were found guilty [of operating as a criminal organization] all that I read was that it was a tremendous day. Why is it a tremendous day? It’s tremendous for doing something obvious? ‘Tremendous moment in history’. It’s a tremendous moment in history for something obvious? Why? All TV channels were showing it like that. ‘Tremendous day’, ‘historic moment for the Greek justice system.’ Why is it a tremendous day? This is the message we send. ”
Schortsanitis, a former EuroLeague champion with Maccabi Tel Aviv, also mentioned that he didn’t feel any racism towards him as a young black man growing up in Greece.
Throughout his international career, Schortsanitis won the silver medal with Greece in the 2006 World Cup and the bronze in the 2009 EuroBasket.