After the excitement about his statements about his NBA and national basketball team colleague Maximilian Kleber, DBB captain Dennis Schröder spoke up again and criticized the reactions.
“The media is always very fond of twisting things. Trying to create some hot air a little bit,” said the Toronto Raptors playmaker of the NBA professional basketball league in a seven-minute YouTube video. “I don’t think it’s okay that the media is always trying to start a fire.”
In the “Got Nexxt” podcast, Schröder criticized at the weekend that Dallas Mavericks star Kleber was absent from the home European Championship last year because he allegedly wanted to work on his “game”. The forward was not “committed” as required by the German Basketball Association (DBB) and should not take anyone’s place. Because then others would have the “ass card”.
The media would “love to scatter things” to write numbers and get views.
DBB captain Schröder: Criticism of Kleber was “not meant to be bad”
“Nevertheless, it wasn’t meant in a bad way. I didn’t want to attack anyone at all,” said Schröder in the video a good six weeks before the start of the World Cup: “It’s unfair for the people who were there last year if someone came and came right away . As a captain, you should stand up for your players.”
He also informed “Maxi Kleber” and said, listen, the statement was made in one way or another. And I always stand by my word. I always say what I think. That’s why everyone appreciates me. It’s not there now sort of a fire.”
Schröder then addressed words to Kleber again. “Maxi, if that came across as weird: You know how I am. I apologize (I apologize, ed.), That should be zero negative. You know how the media are.”
The headlines of the last few days would have prompted him to react (“I have to clarify something first”). In the end, the decision about the squad is of course up to national coach Gordon Herbert: “I’m not the coach. Gordie gets the big bucks for that.”