By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo had been busy lately. The Milwaukee Bucks star and MVP of the 2018-19 NBA Regular Season presented his first custom made shoe design, Zoom Freak 1, in Athens, and was informed by reporters during his press conference that immigrants with a Greek citizenship are now able to vote in the elections.
The Greek Freak was born in Greece, but never enjoyed similar privileges. Throughout his childhood, he was effectively stateless, not able to obtain papers from Greece or Nigeria. Looking back, he confessed: “I remember when we were young kids, our friends were getting IDs and passports. We could not understand what was going on.”
“We never had the opportunity to vote” he noted. By the time he was 19, the Bucks picked him in the 2013 NBA draft. Antetokounmpo has since launched himself to the very top of the league and to the MVP stardom. However, he has never left behind the neighborhood of Sepolia, where he grew up.
“It is definitely great for children that were born in Greece to get the opportunity to be like the other children. I am very glad about this” he added on the subject.
Watch his whole answer on Eurohoops TV (check CC for English subtitles):