Homecoming without cordiality: Saibou back in Germany
Controversial professional basketball player Joshiko Saibou has played a competitive game in Germany for the first time since the coronavirus controversies in 2020. The 33-year-old is now under contract with second-division club Medipolis SC Jena and made his season debut in Jena's 95:83 win over Römerstrom Gladiators Trier on Saturday evening. Saibou contributed twelve points and five assists.
The point guard played for Alba Berlin and Würzburg, among others, in the German Basketball League. In the summer of 2020, he was dismissed without notice by Telekom Baskets Bonn after taking part in a demonstration against the government's coronavirus measures.
The club accused him of having "violated the known protection rules" by participating and thus posing "a permanent risk of infection". Saibou then moved to French club Reims and six months later moved on to Dijon. He only returned to Germany in September 2023.
The home fans from Trier criticized the professional with harsh words on a banner on Saturday. Saibou was first the "role model of all", only then did his "mask fall", the supporters wrote among other things.
Saibou was in the Germany squad for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which sparked criticism in some quarters. The association defended the player, who is "100 percent committed to the values of the national team".
"I don't believe in conspiracy theories and I never have. I have a clear stance on discriminatory groups of any kind," Saibou told the German Press Agency in an interview in June 2021. He has never spread a single conspiracy theory, neither personally nor on social media. "It's a shame to have to justify yourself for something you absolutely didn't do," he said.
Saibou's return to German basketball saw him play for Medipolis SC Jena in Pro A, scoring twelve points and five assists in their win over Römerstrom Gladiators Trier. Despite the home crowd's criticism, Saibou had previously played for notable German teams such as Alba Berlin and Würzburg in the German Basketball League.
Source: www.dpa.com
