Racism furor engulfs top club

VILNIUS - The boss of a top Lithuanian basketball club has resigned after making seemingly racist remarks about black players, drawing comparisons to the 2014 controversy surrounding former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

BC Lietuvos Rytas president Gedvydas Vainauskas stepped down on Tuesday after saying "there should not be more than two black players on the team".

"Four black players appeared on the team, and they formed sort of a gang," Vainauskas told a TV channel that he owns last week.

He later said he "expressed disappointment about some of the foreign players selected for the season" and apologized "if I was improperly understood".

Businessman Antanas Guoga, who is also a member of the EU parliament, replaced Vainauskas as boss of the Vilnius-based pro club after taking over half of its shares.

The Mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Simasius, said the changes in the club's management were "directly linked" to Vainauskas' "inexcusable" statements.

"Vainauskas' remarks contradict all values that represent sport, basketball and Vilnius - an open, multi-ethnic and multicultural city," Simasius said.

The Lithuanian capital controls a 25 percent stake in Rytas and provides around $1.1 million in funding per season.

The club finished third in this season's Lithuanian national championships and made it to the top 16 in the EuroCup.

In May, the club suspended three American players from the team, accusing them of partying in bars during the semifinal series, a claim the players denied.

EuroLeague, which organizes EuroCup, also slammed Vainauskas' remarks as "deeply offensive, harmful, and contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect".

More than just a national sport, basketball is often referred to as the "second religion" - after Catholicism - in Lithuania, a Baltic EU nation of 2.8 million that is ranked No 5 in the world.

The furor drew comparisons to a 2014 incident on the other side of the Atlantic when the NBA slapped a lifetime suspension on former Clippers owner Sterling, who criticized his girlfriend for having her picture taken with black people.

AFP