NBA veteran Dennis Schröder scored a game-high 26 points and guided Germany to a 107-88 group phase win over Lithuania at EuroBasket on Saturday. But, before halftime, he was also the target of racial abuse in Finland’s Tampere Deck Arena, according to The Associated Press.
Two people were identified as the alleged perpetrators, the German Basketball Association said, according to the AP, which reported that those two people were then ejected from the arena.
Advertisement
One of them was ultimately identified by video and has been banned from the rest of the tournament, FIBA officials said.
“FIBA unequivocally condemns hate speech, discriminatory conduct and racist language in any form,” the group said, via the AP. “Creating an inclusive, respectful and safe environment for players, teams and fans remains a fundamental priority of our sport.
“FIBA has provided the relevant footage and information to local law enforcement authorities, who are continuing to investigate the matter.”
The incident took place while Schröder — Germany’s team captain — walked to the locker room.
“Making monkey noises, that’s something I don’t respect,” Schröder reportedly said in German postgame.
“No matter what status, insults, that’s all fine. But racism simply doesn’t belong in this sport. That’s something that’s not OK.”
Schröder is preparing for his 13th season in the NBA. The soon-to-be 32-year-old guard agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal with the Sacramento Kings last month.
Schröder, who will be playing for his 10th NBA team when the 2025-26 season gets underway, notably compared the league’s trade deadline to “modern slavery” earlier this year.
“It’s like modern slavery,” Schröder said in a February interview with NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s modern slavery at the end of the day. Everybody can decide where you’re going, even if you have a contract. Yeah, of course, we make a lot of money and we can feed our families, but at the end of the day if they say, ‘You’re not coming to work tomorrow, you’re going over there,’ they can decide that.”
The same week Schröder vocalized his frustrations, he was part of the Golden State Warriors’ five-team, blockbuster Jimmy Butler trade. Schröder was briefly rerouted to the Utah Jazz, who then traded him to Detroit on Feb. 6.
Advertisement
Schröder has played games for the Atlanta Hawks (2013-18), Oklahoma City Thunder (2018-2020), Los Angeles Lakers (2020-21 and 2022-23), Boston Celtics (2021-22), Houston Rockets (2022), Toronto Raptors (2023-24), Brooklyn Nets (2024), Golden State Warriors (2024-25) and Detroit Pistons (2025).
As for Saturday’s incident, FIBA said it’s planning on meeting with the Lithuanian delegation to discuss the matter, per the AP.
Germany, which has now won its first three games in the group phase of the competition, has clinched the EuroBasket Round of 16 in Riga, Latvia.
