Official axed over racist rant against NBA star
Education Minister Niki Kerameus on Friday ordered the immediate dismissal of the refugee education coordinator at the Malakasa migrant camp, north of Athens, over a tweet in which he described Greek-Nigerian NBA star Giannis Antentokounmpo as a “monkey” in an expletive-ridden post.
“We unequivocally condemn the posts of racist and highly offensive content by the professor in question,” Kerameus said. “Such behavior has no place in our education system.”
Konstantinos Kalemis almost immediately erased his twitter account after his post.
The issue was raised by SYRIZA lawmaker Nikos Filis during a Parliament debate on an education bill, prompting Kerameus to order an immediate investigation.
The Kalemis incident occurred in the wake of the airing in the United States on Thursday by the Bleacher Report of the first of a five-part documentary series about the Milwaukee Bucks player.
Antetokounmpo was born and raised in Athens to Nigerian immigrants but did not obtain a Greek passport until before leaving for the US for the 2013 NBA draft. He said it was was tough “being Black in a country of white people.”
“There’s going to be times where you feel like you’re not who you are … I was born here. I’ve never been to Nigeria … I went to Greek school … Until I was 18, I never left the country, so Greece was all I knew,” he said.
