sports show: You have made a curious dispute with the head of the Euroleague referee public. It started at the beginning of the current 2021/22 season when Richard Stokes She texted me asking if you were going to shave. What were you thinking?
Benjamin Bart: I took it for a joke at first. But he meant it very seriously – and then I said: ‘No, I won’t do that.’ That’s my personality, I’ve had the beard for a long time and so far no one has bothered about it.
With this decision you ultimately put your career in the most important European competition at risk.
Bart: In several phone calls I Richard Stokes afterwards said quite clearly that I wouldn’t get any more games if I didn’t shave. His reasoning was that head coaches and sporting directors reportedly dislike it when referees have beards. Also, being the only referee in the league with a beard, I would be the center of attention, especially on bad decisions. It doesn’t matter whether I have a beard, am bald or look different – we are always at the center of bad decisions.
In view of your experience, it is certainly no coincidence that you are actually the only bearded referee in the Euroleague.
Other referees are also affected
Bart: I later found out that other referees were also told to shave. The colleagues shaved and then, unlike me, got more games. But there are also colleagues who have referees as their main job and are therefore more dependent. We German referees don’t mostly work full-time, but have basketball as a very well-paid hobby.
Have you spoken to the colleagues concerned?
Bart: Yes, and everyone has given me their reasons for not being able to stand up against it. I understand that too. And that’s why I said: Then I have to get up and do something if someone else can’t do it.
You have taken legal action, including demanding damages for the Euroleague appearances that you had been promised.
Bart: The point was that I put pressure on the Euroleague to react at all, because they hadn’t done so before. Ultimately, she sent a letter last week in which she made it clear that she shouldn’t have asked me this question (after the shave, editor’s note) and that my beard is no reason, no more for me to give games.
At our request, the Euroleague also sent out a statement today in which they acknowledged a mistake and announced that they would no longer apply unfair standards in the future.
“I reached my goal”
Bart: So I’ve achieved my goal, maybe it will help my colleagues and the referees’ union. I have also decided not to take any further legal action. I will not make any financial demands and will pay the legal fees myself. I didn’t do it for the money, basketball is a passion, my income is elsewhere.
Referee boss Stokes has apologized to you and offered you an interview. Will you meet him?
Bart: I accepted the apology. But there was no longer any reason for me to have a face-to-face interview. For me, all the things that needed to be said have been said. He made it very clear what his point of view was and followed it up with action by simply not using me again. For me it’s done.
However, you have now gone public. Why this step?
Bart: Because obviously there is a problem in the organization of the Euroleague. It’s 2022, it’s just no longer possible to discriminate against people because of their appearance. For me it’s just the beard. But maybe there are other areas where something similar is happening. Maybe that encourages others to get up now or find someone to do it for them.
“Since 6 a.m. my phone hasn’t stopped ringing”
What reactions have you gotten so far since the story broke?
Bart: My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since 6 a.m. Initially, feedback came from Germany, now from all over Europe. They are all positive. I am thanked for doing this. I think it was the right move given the feedback.
According to the Euroleague statement, it seems at least conceivable that you will continue to be used there. Would you be interested?
Bart: If I were invited to the preparatory course, which I am currently not assuming, I would very likely decline. I don’t think the organization is capable of changing that quickly. And then there are only two options: either you touch me with kid gloves. I don’t want that, I want to be treated like everyone else. Or you choose other ways. And that’s why I’m currently not particularly interested. I think I’ve fulfilled my mission: to stand up here, point out a problem and perhaps make life easier for my colleagues in the future.
The interview was conducted by Volker Schulte