Before Olympia in Paris - Everything for the flag: Schröder's intense self-promotion
For Dennis Schröder, the topic of Olympics-flag bearer was clear early on. Already at the end of 2023, long before the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) announced the procedure or even individual candidates for the opening ceremony in Paris, the German basketball star declared in no uncertain terms: "I must carry the flag! When not now, then when?"
Pflaume, Klopp, Steinmeier and Scholz
The 30-year-old world champion seems strongly driven by the thought of following the next highlight in his career just ten months after the gold triumph in Manila and leading the German team at the Summer Games as the second basketballer after Dirk Nowitzki. In fact, a lot is going well for the basketballer who was once a fan favorite but was far away from the public eye for a long time. His teammates regard him as the undisputed chief of the world champion team and admire him as "an inspiring personality" (Moritz Wagner).
Moderator Kai Pflaume is campaigning for him, successful trainer Jürgen Klopp poses in a soccer stadium for a photo with him. Before the Olympic journey, which leads over Berlin and London to Lille and Paris, Schröder is positioning himself for this special honor, which has been driving him intensely for some months. He posted a message on his social media platforms on Monday with eight exclamation marks.
"Short fact check" from the DOSB
When Schröder said in March that he had never been contacted by the DOSB about this and believed it would be "somehow drawn," the federation even sent a public "short fact check" to the NBA professional. The DOSB explained the entire procedure, including the nominations and nomination deadlines, to Schröder. In keeping with the motto: "Now calm down."
It has been confirmed since Sunday that Schröder, along with tennis star Alexander Zverev and sports shoe Christian Reitz, is one of the three male candidates for Paris. In the election, which lasts until July 21, the fans' and athletes' votes will each count for 50%.
While Olympia gold medalist and world champion Reitz has around 1,900 followers on Instagram, Schröder has over 4.1 million people following him. The opinion within the Olympic team could look different for the women. In addition to soccer player Alexandra Popp and riding Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, judoka Anna-Maria Wagner is also in the running.
Memories of Nowitzki
Clearly against Schröder in this position is his Olympic record. The basketballer has never been active at the games before. When his team qualified for Tokyo in 2021, the playmaker could not participate due to insurance reasons. His opponents Reitz (gold in 2016 in Rio and bronze in 2008 in Beijing) and Zverev (gold in the singles in 2021 in Tokyo) are highly decorated Olympic participants and may be better known to a wider core of the Olympic team than Schröder.
It was the same in 2008 for Fahnenträger Nowitzki, who was a celebrated basketball star in the NBA but had never been involved with Olympia before. "It's a taboo break," Nowitzki admitted himself back then. Some athletes and former successful Olympic athletes were disappointed, so Nowitzki publicly asked for forgiveness. "I don't want to step on anyone's slippers," Nowitzki said.
Election as a sign against racism?
It is unlikely that such or similar sentences will be heard from Schroder in the case of a victory. The procedure has changed over the years, and even the basketball player himself does not see the selection of the flag bearer only from a sporting perspective.
"To represent Germany in this way with my background, my mum from Gambia, would be enormous. That would be a statement as a Dark-skinned person carrying the flag," Schroder said.
He spoke of "a statement for German-Africans" and of "a sign against Racism." Long Jump Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo, who will not be in Paris for the Opening Ceremony due to the competition plan and therefore was not nominated, sees it differently. "It's about symbolism. Symbolism is nice, but it's not enough. I don't believe that symbolism will save what's going wrong," Mihambo told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung."
Schroder wants "respect at last"
The basketballers want to participate in the Opening Ceremony as a team, although they will already have their first Olympic game against Japan at 13.30 hours the following day. It will be Schroder's first duty game for Germany since September 10, 2023, when he led Germany to WM gold in Manila.
"I want my respect. I don't want to hear anything more about my name," Schroder said at the announcement of the decision in the coming week. He wants to hear his name unconditionally at the announcement.
- In Paris, the German Olympic team will be led by Dennis Schröder, the basketball star who expressed his desire to carry the Olympic flag as early as the end of 2023.
- Schröder's teammates admire him as an inspiring personality, with Moritz Wagner describing him as such.
- Jürgen Klopp, a successful soccer trainer, posed for a photo with Schröder before the Olympic journey that includes stops in Berlin, London, Lille, and Paris.
- Schröder is positioning himself for the honor of carrying the flag, a goal that has driven him intensely for several months.
- Oliver Scholz, the German Chancellor, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the President of Germany, are among the public figures supporting Schröder's bid.
- Alexander Zverev, a tennis star, and Christian Reitz, a sports shoe designer, are also among the three male candidates for the flag-carrying role, according to the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB).
- The election process involves fans' and athletes' votes, each counting for 50%, and will last until July 21.
- Olympia gold medalist and world champion Reitz has a smaller following on social media than Schröder, who boasts over 4 million followers.
- Judoka Anna-Maria Wagner and soccer player Alexandra Popp are also in the running for the flag-carrying role on the women's team.
- Schröder's Olympic record is less impressive than his competitors, as he has never participated in the games before and missed out on Tokyo 2021 due to insurance reasons.
- Dirk Nowitzki, a celebrated basketball star in the NBA, faced similar criticism when he was selected as the flag-bearer for Germany in 2008, as he had never participated in the Olympics before.
- In a statement against racism, Schröder expressed his desire to carry the flag as a statement of representation for German-Africans if elected.
- Malaika Mihambo, a long jump Olympic champion, disagreed with Schröder, saying that symbolism alone is not enough to address the issues of racism.
- Despite having an Olympic game against Japan scheduled the day after the opening ceremony, the German basketball team, including Schröder, want to participate in the opening ceremony as a team.
