By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Mateusz Ponitka is parting ways with Zenit Saint Petersburg, the team announced.
“The club and the forward decided to terminate the contract ahead of terms by agreement of the parties,” Zenit’s statement read.
Ponitka was one of the players (Jordan Loyd, Billy Baron, Tyson Carter, Alex Poytrhees) that left the team when the war in Ukraine started but returned for what turned out to be short-term.
It should be noted that all the players received heavy backlash for the move but Ponitka was the most criticized, as the Polish national team captain.
” ‘Shame’ is the kindest word I’ve read about Mateusz Ponitka in Polish segment of the internet today,” Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Proshuta wrote, describing the atmosphere surrounding the move.
Former Polish NBA player Marcin Gortat was perhaps the most impactful with his words.
“Mateusz Ponitka has always been an individualist. He always walked his paths. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes – bad. He made the decisions one would expect of him… He only thought of ‘himself’. There is no major shock or surprise for me in this situation. Everyone has the right to do so.
It is sad that he is the captain of our team (Polish NT). It seems to me that many people expected a different decision. You have to remember that the captain’s armband was given to him by the president. Now he collects double criticism for fulfilling such a role.
All these aspects aside, the question is different. Where is nature? Human emotions? Unity? Support? Let’s also wait for his statement, if there hasn’t been one yet,” he wrote via Twitter.
Ponitka has already returned to Poland, per the national team announcement. They also confirmed that next week, the player will be speaking officially for the first time about the whole situation. Ponitka will be available to the media and the press conference will be broadcasted.