SAIBOU Joshiko

General
PROTESTS AND DISMISSAL
In August 2020 his contract with German team Baskets Bonn was terminated after he publicly criticised Germany's measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, and took part in two demonstrations in Berlin. He took his case to the Labour Court of Bonn, where it was settled in November 2020. He was recalled to the German national team in 2021. "First, I would like to address the people who have felt hurt with my actions or statements over the past year. I would like to apologise for this and say that it was absolutely not my intention. I know that people look up to me as a national player, and it is my aim to do it justice. I know that I have exaggerated words. That ultimately led to even more division, which is actually the opposite of what I wanted to achieve. In retrospect, I would certainly have chosen the words differently, but that's what I'm here to clean up." (bz-berlin.de, 16 Jun 2021; globallegalchronicle.com, 03 Dec 2020; wdr.de, 22 Nov 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
He and his partner Alexandra Wester founded Smiling Kids of Africa, an organisation that focuses on projects in Africa to help young athletes reach their true potential. (Instagram profile, 13 Jul 2021)