The “target” of the new EEC announcement is the Panathinaikos coach, Ergkin Atamanwith the Hellenic Federation inviting him to recall his statements about his Greek players Olympic.
After the end of the Basket League finals, Ergkin Ataman described Olympic players as “false Greeks”referring to Thomas Wokap, Sasa Vezenkov and Tyler Dorsey who have Greek passports and the EEC implied that he would complain otherwise.
The EEC announcement
“The administration of the Hellenic Federation informs the sporting opinion of the following:
In Greece in 2025, basketball is a dominant sport in our society with about 900 clubs cultivating the sport of basketball and 75,000 active athletes. Indeed, with recent e-Kouros data, as presented by Minister Broutsis, basketball is officially first in athletes in the largest region of Greece in Attica, where almost 50% of our country’s population resides.
This is clearly a reward for the development model of the Hellenic Basketball Federation from 2021 onwards. Unfortunately, despite trying to eliminate the violence of every form of basketball, it turns out that important steps are needed to allow our sport to eliminate the toxicity and instigators of violence from its ecosystem.
Obviously, and we are proud that by 2022 the Hellenic Basketball Federation has organized 2022 F4, 2023, 2024 and 2025 F8 with fans of all teams side by side, inconceivable before 2021, but is not enough.
The image in the GBL finals organized by ESAKE is far from what all the sporty society is seeking and therefore requires significant institutional interventions. That is why in the coming days we will call all the components of the sport, professional basketball (ESAKE and teams), the state and the other bodies so that with institutional interventions we can guarantee unity and legitimacy not only in words but in practice.
At the same time, respecting our institutional role, we want to inform the sporting public that during the final, the ASEAD decisions were issued that fully justified the EEC Board of Directors for the 5 -member KED/EEC and rejected the claims of the OEM Panathinaikos.
For our part, wanting not to intensify the already tense climate that existed during the final we did not mention nor did we announce it, so that it would not be construed as intervention in the events. We kept a similar attitude in the statements of the successful coach Mr. Ataman, when shortly after the finals in public statements, he was insulted by Greek athletes who have worn the coat of arms and sweaty for National Greece, calling them non -Greeks and we did not understand that we did not understand it immediately. Of course, we look forward to Mr Ataman, as a coach serving another national team and knows what it means to compete with your national team, recognize his mistake and recall his unfortunate statements.
Finally, let us inform all the fans that in terms of statements published in the press with reports of a criminal organization in basketball, we call on anyone who has evidence to provide them within 2 days to the Hellenic Basketball Federation, referring to this case after this time.
We are determined that if it turns out that there are illegal acts to blame the most stringent penalties to the perpetrators. But if it turns out that none of the complainants are valid then as the EEC we will be legally moved against those who defame our sport, as has happened with an earlier complaint 3 years ago, without any evidence.
It is a fact that the Hellenic Basketball Federation, which has as its members, will guarantee the unity of the sport, proceeding to the next General Assembly in greater tightening of the framework against violence, motivation and defamation of the sport wherever it comes from.
Behaviors that are not in line with the noble competition and the good fight is not acceptable and through its disciplinary bodies (MDD, Championship Committee) and the Ethics Committee will preserve the image of the sport we all serve. “