By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Turkish Basketball Federation president Hedo Turkoglu commented that there’s a major contrast between Anadolu Efes coach Ergin Ataman’s criticism of the cancelation of the 2019-2020 basketball season in Turkey and what he said about the EuroLeague also shutting down the season, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“He said that our decision sets a precedent for the EuroLeague, which he praised and feared to criticize because he knows that he will be fined, he only criticizes Turkish basketball,” Turkoglu stated in a press conference, without saying Ataman’s name but mentioning that he’s talking about “the only Turkish coach in EuroLeague.”
Ataman had described the decision of TBF as “hasty” and one that was made “without any planning.” Efes was the standings leader in both leagues when they were terminated.
Turkoglu’s full quotes on Ataman are as follows:
“Do we encounter issues that we inevitably feel upset about? We do. However, when there are unfair criticisms, we laugh at them as a team. Especially when an employee of our very valuable club tries to criticize us at every opportunity. We would like to point out that sometimes we watch with admiration and are surprised. This friend – I really want to share this with you- we noticed the other day that he unintentionally praised us while criticizing us. He said that our decision sets a precedent for the EuroLeague, which he praised and feared to criticize because he knows that he will be fined, he only criticizes Turkish basketball. In this sense, he also admitted how strong a federation we are. The EuroLeague, which he gives great praise, took the same decision 10 days after our decision on May 11th. Unfortunately, this employee did not comment on them. I would like to tell that friend from here: Since he represents us as the only Turkish coach in the EuroLeague, he should not be so afraid of money, TBF will pay every fine. I wanted to raise this issue from here.”