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Antetokounmpo and Sengün settle public dispute

Andrew Jackson

After their direct confrontation at the European Championships, NBA stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Alperen Sengün had a public dispute. Now the two have reconciled, as they announced on Instagram.

Antetokounmpo vs. Sengün: What happened?

The dispute was triggered by a statement made by Sengün after the semifinal victory against Greece and Antetokounmpo. He said that Antetokounmpo was “a good, but not a great passer” and that this had been the key to success.

A few hours later, Sengün posted a photo gallery on his Instagram account and commented: “Did the sea breeze bother you?” For Greek fans, the remark seemed like a provocation referring to the “Asia Minor catastrophe” in 1922, when Greek residents had to flee across the sea after a military defeat in what is now Turkey. In Turkey, however, the remark is a rather common, slightly provocative expression used to taunt opponents – along the lines of: “Well, was it too windy for you?”

 After the subsequent match for third place, in which Greece secured the bronze medal, Antetokounmpo was asked about the comments. “It doesn’t matter to me. At the end of the day, no one will remember what they say. People will only remember how I reacted to it.“

 

After the final between Germany and Turkey, both players were selected for the ”All Tournament Starting Five” and called onto the stage one after the other. What was striking was that Antetokounmpo and Sengün did not greet each other, even refraining from shaking hands.

Antetokounmpo and Sengün bury the hatchet

 Late on Tuesday evening, there was a turnaround in the case. Antetokounmpo and Sengün published a joint post on Instagram with the following conciliatory words:

“We play for the love of our country.
We play for the love of the sport.
We play with respect.
We always remember that sport serves to unite us, not divide us. x”

In his own Instagram story, Sengün also addressed his controversial social media post, which has since been deleted. “My post after the Greece game was a communication error. I have great respect for the Greeks. It was never my intention to cause offense.”