Karolis Tiškevičius, a Lithuanian basketball podcast host, referred to Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green as a “monkey” when describing the stomp seen round the world.
Green stomped on the chest of Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis after Sabonis grabbed Green’s leg during Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. Green was given a flagrant foul penalty 2, ejected from the game and suspended for Game 3.
“What happened yesterday in Sacramento, when Draymond Green just like a monkey was jumping,” said Tiškevičius. “There is no racism here. If you want you can try to see this kind of jumping is a monkey jumping, and he was jumping on Domantas Sabonis. If you see racism here, it’s your own personal problem. It was horrible behavior and later he claimed that ‘my leg was stuck, I didn’t have anywhere to put my leg and that’s how I stepped on him.’ No, you kicked him because he hold your leg. A real animal, animal.”
Was The Comment Racist?
That made for horrendous comments by Tiškevičius and there is no place in civilized society for this kind of discourse. Yet here we are.
Tiškevičius’ made the comments in Lithuanian and they were translated to English in the video clip by a software program.
Given that, you might be inclined to say things get lost in translation and maybe the podcaster doesn’t understand the implications of calling a Black person a monkey.
However, his comments did translate to say “there is no racism here,” which means he was aware how this would be interpreted by a wider audience.
One of the things we need to remember is that the world’s history is fraught with racism of all kinds. It has a particular look and feel here in the United States that isn’t the same everywhere around the world.
But make no mistake, it exists.
The History Of Negatively Comparing Humans And Monkeys Is Ancient
The comparison of humans and apes dates all the way back to the classical period (500-336 BC) in Ancient Greece. The Greek philosopher Plato declared apes ugly compared to humans and men apish in relation to gods.
In the Middle Ages, Christian discourse labeled simians (higher primates) as devilish figures and representatives of lustful and sinful behavior.
Throughout the centuries, the behavior of simians has been portrayed as negative and linked to the worst part of mankind, the base pleasures that dehumanize.
Fast forward to centuries of chattel slavery and the phenotypical differences used to “other” and dehumanize Black people and you see the issue.
That’s a very brief summary. There have been serious academic studies done on this topic.
Sabonis is the son of Lithuanian-born hoops legend Arvydas Sabonis. Domas is the son of hoops royalty in Lithuania. There’s ndoubt a lot of nationalist sentiment was baked into those comments.
Regardless, what Tiškevičius said was racist and wrong, no matter the context.
As for Green, he was suspended by the NBA for game three.
“Here’s what it came down to: excessive and over-the-top actions, conduct detrimental and a repeat offender,” NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations, Joe Dumars told ESPN. “That’s what separates this where you end up with a suspension.”
The Warriors trail their best-of-seven series with the Kings 0-2, with game three on Thursday in San Francisco.
