The political situation in Thuringia is having an impact on competitive sport. Two basketball coaches report players in transfer negotiations who are worried about racism and hostility
The political developments in Thuringia are making it difficult for the basketball clubs from Jena and Erfurt to sign new players. “Where we have a problem is the acquisition of German players who want to come here with their families and have fears,” Björn Harmsen, coach of second division club Jena, told the Thüringer Allgemeine. More and more, “the issue of the shift to the right and political developments is playing a greater role.”
Thuringia goes to the polls on Sunday. According to a Forsa survey, the AfD, which has been classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a confirmed right-wing extremist party, is currently by far the strongest party with 30 percent of the vote. It is followed by the CDU with 21% and the BSW.
Harmsen: Populism is becoming more and more acceptable
Florian Gut, who coaches third-division club Erfurt, has similar experiences to his Jena colleague. “When we want to sign young players from Germany with a migrant background, they themselves and even more so their parents bring up this topic very early on in discussions,” reported the coach. “Do they have to be afraid of racism? Are they aware of the rise of the far right? There are very serious concerns and a great deal of uncertainty here – especially in Thuringia.”
The trainers’ own experiences with right-wing extremism go back a long way, but are still warning enough for them. “There have to be certain values and norms that everyone adheres to. If more and more boundaries are being crossed here and this is accepted in everyday life – that can’t be right. That’s why we’re addressing these things here,” said Harmsen. More and more populism is being allowed, and more and more acceptance of it is emerging. “There must be ground rules and they must not shift so much.”
According to Gut, the only way to achieve this is through cohesion. “However, it is important that we strengthen our social cohesion and do not allow ourselves to be divided by right-wing populists who try to take people for themselves based on their dissatisfaction,” emphasized the trainer.
