What were they thinking? NBA winner and European youth champion fleeing from Russian club
Yasmine Green
Dailysports's expert
Translated by the editors
Russia's suspension from FIBA competitions against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine does not scare foreign basketball players from coming to clubs in the aggressor country. But the players quickly regret their decision.
In August, Russian club Avtodor signed two foreign basketball players: Spaniard Marc Garcia and American Quinndary Weatherspoon, who, by the way, is the 2022 NBA champion with Golden State. But already in September they left the club from Saratov.
It is reported that Garcia and Witherspoon made this decision against the backdrop of the shelling of the city, which Russian media attributed to Ukraine. But if the Spaniard managed to negotiate an early termination of his contract with Avtodor, the American simply decided not to fly to Saratov and stopped contacting the club.
Among other things, Witherspoon's decision was influenced by the fact that the drone allegedly hit the house where the NBA champion was expected to live. Now the Avtodor management has decided to sue the American, as Witherspoon has still received in the region of 340 thousand dollars from the club.
