E-Balla wrote:Nuntius wrote:E-Balla wrote:Giannis considers himself Nigerian and Greece doesn't have birthright citizenship. He wasn't Greek until they found out he can ball when he was 18. Wouldn't count him at all.
Congrats to Luka and Rudy though! European players are redefining the game right now.
Giannis considers himself to be both Nigerian and Greek. That's why he has both flags in his twitter handle. It is definitely true that the Greek state ignored him until they learned that he was good at basketball. Unfortunately, this is the case for a lot of immigrants living here and it's a big issue for their children. Our state is lagging behind most Western states when it comes to naturalizing these kids that have been born here and have spent their whole life here. The situation did get a bit better the past 2-3 years but a) it's not enough and b) the party that is likely to win the elections that are taking place in less than a month isn't likely to make things any better.
“There are a lot of people that I see and I tell them that I am African. I am not just ‘The Greek Freak. It doesn’t matter what people may believe because of my nickname. There were a lot of times when I was in Greece where people said, ‘You’re not Greek. You’re Nigerian because you’re black.’ But then there have been a lot of times where it’s been the opposite, where people say, ‘You’re not African. You’re Greek. You’re ‘The Greek Freak.’ ’ But I don’t really care about that. Deep down, I know who I am and where I am from. That’s all that matters to me.”
If he considered himself Greek it would make sense to refer to him as such but he's been a US citizen almost as long as he's been a Greek one.
Sidebar: Yeah immigration status in Greece is screwed. We have the Dreamers but they're not born in the US. One of the smartest things America ever did was implement birthright citizenship. It was a 100% necessary thing and helps avoid issues like Giannis'.
I remember that interview. I said the same thing when that interview was made into a thread. I fully agree with what Giannis says. He isn't just the Greek Freak. He is also African. There were a lot of racist **** that told him that he wasn't Greek when he was living over here which is exactly why I'll never say to him "you're not Greek because you're black". I have no right to decide what Giannis is and what isn't. He is the one that decides and if he wants to feel both then I'll consider him both.
If you take a look at his twitter profile, you'll see that he has both the Nigerian and the Greek flag up there. You will also find the following message there ->
The above message is an IG post addressed to his brother, Thanasis. Thanasis plays for Panathinaikos BC in Greece and in November 2018 an Olympiacos "super-fan" (and major ****), called Takis Tsoukalas, that has his own show in a private show and all went in a racist tirade against him after Panathinaikos beat Olympiacos in a EuroLeague match (he does this **** a lot, being an **** is basically his shtick). The message is Giannis' response to this attack. There is a translation in the comment thread below but it appears to be a machine translation so it's not very good. Allow me to offer a quick translation that will be more intuitive to native English speakers:
"First of all, I'd like to apologize to you, Thanasis, because I know that what I'm about to say is going to put the spotlight on both you and me and I know that this isn't something you want. However, I am sure that if our father was still here he would be very disappointed if I kept silent. I am losing sleep these past few days over the negative and racist incident that happened recently. If something like that can happen to Thanasis who proudly represents the Greek National Team and Panathinaikos BC, always with a smile on his face, then I can't imagine what other POC (translator's note: Giannis uses the word "έγχρωμοι" which directly translates to colored people in English but since this term has a very negative connotation in English I opted to change it to POC which conveys a similar meaning but without a negative connotation) are going through in Greece. I am very sad and disappointed. But we aren't going to let these negative comments change this family and our love for the country we grew up in. Me and my brothers are Greek-Nigerians and whoever doesn't like it can beat it (translator's note: Giannis says "σε όποιον αρέσουμε" which literally translates to "whoever likes us" but has the connotations of "if someone doesn't like us then they can take a hike" which is why I translated it like that) and we will keep representing and saying nothing but the best for our Country (translator's note: he capitalizes the first letter of the word "πατρίδα" which translates to country)."
At the end of the post there is a Greek and then a Nigerian flag (you can't see it on the tweet initially due to the way that the IG post is cropped but if you click on it you'll see the Nigerian flag as well).
Sidebar: I fully agree that birthright citizenship is the way to go. The situation over here is beyond stupid.
