Racist LBF president may face jail time
VILNIUS - Lithuanian Basketball Federation President Vladas Garastas may face a prison sentence after making a series of racist comments about American players in the Lithuanian league.
"Now about the negro playing in Zalgiris, I would expel him immediately. Zygimantas Janavicius is twice as good as he is... Education, there's no education there, with only the blackies playing," the Lithuanian-language daily Lietuvos Rytas cited Garastas, 76, as saying in reference to a Zalgiris players from the United States.
After the interview, the Human Rights Monitoring Institute asked the Prosecutor General's Office to open a probe into the conduct of the LBF president.
Garastas circulated a public apology on Tuesday, saying his emotional statements were caused by poor health and intemperance. "I acknowledge that my comments were inappropriate, insulting and indefensible... I was impulsive and emotional to use the strong-worded statements to describe the persons of a different race," said Garastas.
VILNIUS - Lithuanian Basketball Federation President Vladas Garastas may face a prison sentence after making a series of racist comments about American players in the Lithuanian league.
"Now about the negro playing in Zalgiris, I would expel him immediately. Zygimantas Janavicius is twice as good as he is... Education, there's no education there, with only the blackies playing," the Lithuanian-language daily Lietuvos Rytas cited Garastas, 76, as saying in reference to a Zalgiris players from the United States.
After the interview, the Human Rights Monitoring Institute asked the Prosecutor General's Office to open a probe into the conduct of the LBF president.
Garastas circulated a public apology on Tuesday, saying his emotional statements were caused by poor health and intemperance. "I acknowledge that my comments were inappropriate, insulting and indefensible... I was impulsive and emotional to use the strong-worded statements to describe the persons of a different race," said Garastas.
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