Turkish League players appreciate Olympiacos’ gesture
Olympiacos’ decision to allow foreign players to return home has been met with great appreciation from players in Turkey as the Turkish Super League continues to play games behind closed doors.
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Almost every basketball league has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, including all of basketball in Greece and Europe’s top continental competitions like the EuroLeague and the Basketball Champions League.
Even the NBA and various FIBA events have been suspended as a result of COVID-19 infecting thousands around the world.
While Europe and the rest of the world has made the sensible decision to put sports on hold for the time being, basketball in Turkey continues to operate behind closed doors.
The Basketball Super League continues to play through its regular season schedule in spite of pleas from several players in the wake of the pandemic. Players like Anadolu Efes’ Shane Larkin have taken to social media to voice their disappointment in having to continue to play games in the wake of the pandemic.
While most of Larkin’s social media activity has been focused on the failings of the Turkish top flight, the EuroLeague’s leading scorer took time to appreciate a post that focused on Olympiacos’ gesture to allow all of the club’s foreign players to return home. Larkin commented on an Instagram post by Eurohoops about Olympiacos’ decision with four prayer emojis.
Larkin isn’t the only player to speak about the situation in Turkey. Former Olympiacos player Kyle Wiltjer, who currently plays for Turk Telekom, has also voiced his displeasure in the decision to keep playing as has Anadolu Efes head coach, Ergin Ataman.
Turkish basketball’s nonsensical decisions fall in line with the Turkish government’s response to coronavirus, which also included hard-to-believe reporting of cases even with neighbours Iran reporting a surge in cases and the country’s main airport serving as a major international hub.
