By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The comments of Ettore Messina, published in the Italian press, about Shabazz Napier created controversy and even the Zvezda guard reacted.
Messina himself clarified the situation immediately, however speaking in Serbian outlet Meridian Sport he gave even more details about what happened”.
As he explained: “I joked: “Probably now (Shabazz) would like to be with us.” The journalist let it go as a statement. If you noticed, there was no reaction from that reporter. That tells you enough. No, that tells you everything”.
Messina admitted that this whole situation bothered him and expressed his respect towards Napier: “I have the utmost respect for Shabazz.” He came to Milan, played very well, we won the title together against a great team like Virtus… And of course, we wanted him to stay at the club, we were sad that we couldn’t keep him. But that’s life. He wanted to come to Red Star and we wish him all the best. I was extremely sorry for what happened. And, I will repeat, it is very interesting that there was no response from the journalists. You usually have the last word…”
This created an outcry in Serbia too and Messina stated that it was all a misunderstanding: “I’m sorry they took it the wrong way here. But there is nothing less than maximum respect for Shabazz”.