By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Takis Tsoukalas, a known TV personality in Greece, is being prosecuted because he made a racist comment against Thanasis Antetokounmpo. The 60-year-old Olympiacos Piraeus fan insulted the Panathinaikos OPAP player calling him a “monkey” on his TV show after the recent game between the two Greek teams in Day 6 of EuroLeague’s regular season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to clear everything up on his family’s love towards Greece and racism, which he did with a touching post on Instagram. The Milwaukee Bucks player stressed that he is deeply disappointed.
“Above everything, Thanasis I want to apologize to you. Because I know that what I’ll write will attract attention to you, which is something I know you don’t want. However, I’m sure that if dad was here, he would be very disappointed if I chose to keep quiet.
I’ve lost sleep the past days because of the racist incident which took place recently. If this could happen to Thanasis, who proudly represents the Greek National Team and Panathinaikos always having a smile, then I can’t imagine what happens to other people of color in Greece. I am deeply saddened and disappointed.
However, we must not let negative comments alter our family and our love for the country, in which we grew up. I and my brothers are Greek/Nigerians and that’s it. We will continue to represent our home country in the best way possible” he wrote.