Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won a bronze medal for Greece, has buried the hatchet after not shaking hands with silver medalist Turkey at the EuroBasket 2025 tournament. A massive controversy had erupted after Antetokounmpo asked Turkish fans to keep their flag away, following heavy criticism on social media for not shaking hands with Turkey’s Alperen Şengun. The situation escalated when Mariah Antetokounmpo received a death threat from a Turkish fan. Both players have now shared a joint social media post and apologized to each other’s fans.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Alperen Sengun share joint post after Turkish fan’s threat to Mariah
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Alperen Sengun recently shared a joint Instagram post that included a picture of them hugging on the court along with a pledge. It read, “We play for the love of our countries. We play for the love of the game. We play with respect. We always remember sports are made to unite us, not divide us.”Giannis also posted an apology on his Instagram Stories. He wrote, “During my live feed, I made an inappropriate comment responding to somebody that was making disrespectful remarks. My intention was never to offend anyone, and I’M DEEPLY SORRY. I have nothing but love and respect for Turkey and people all around the world. That’s how our parents raised us — with love and respect.”Coming forward to support the Milwaukee Bucks star and his family, Turkish player Sengun shared the post and also issued an apology on his Instagram Stories. Sharing a game photo with Giannis, he wrote while referring to a deleted post: “My post after the Greece game was a communication mistake. I have great respect for the Greek people. No offense was ever intended.”
What’s the Giannis Antetokounmpo Turkish flag controversy all about?
Mariah Antetokounmpo received a serious threat after Giannis made a remark about the Turkish flag. During an Instagram Live, Giannis, reacting to hate messages from Turkish fans, said, “Get that f… Turkish flag out of here!”Later, Mariah revealed a death threat she had received in her Instagram DMs. A fan wrote, “We will kill your entire family. You will be afraid everywhere you go.” She exposed the sender’s account and called him out on her Instagram Stories. In the same post, she congratulated Turkey on their silver medal and added, “However, to your fans, there’s no place for this type of behavior in sports. Actually, there’s no place for this type of behavior PERIOD!!”Also Read: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s wife Mariah proudly brags about EuroBasket bronze medal winner: “Everything earned, nothing given”To prevent fans from making it worse, both Antetokounmpo and Sengun disabled the comments section on their joint post.