By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lietuvos Rytas president made some blatantly racist remarks while speaking in a pre-recorded video interview in Lithuanian TV.
Via a translation by Lithuanian journalist Simonas Baranauskas, Vainauskas said that “It cannot be that way; no more than two black players – I can say that from my 23 years of experience in the business. Teams don’t ever have more than two black players. Because that’s when bad things start to take place.”
Vainauskas’ quotes were made in relation to the team’s failure to reach the Lithuanian League finals, the blame for which was put to some American players of the team that were accused of “negligent behavior”.
Unbelievable racism: Lietuvos Rytas president Gedvydas Vainauskas attributes club's downfall to increased number of black players on team. pic.twitter.com/8P0wT07gy0
— Simonas Baranauskas (@LithuaniaBasket) June 15, 2017
Video of Vainauskas’ remarks:
UPDATE: After the general outcry about the comments Gedvydas Vainuaskas issues the following statement: “While talking about the lessons learned during the last season, I had in my mind the situation with our foreign players. The principal position of BC Lietuvos Rytas is that a basketball player first of all should be a professional. Unfortunately, a few of our foreigners did not meet the expectations of the club. During the play-offs they acted irresponsibly and that had a negative impact on our team’s performance. In my interview, I expressed my disappointment about some of the foreign players selected this season. I apologize, if I was improperly understood.“