A 16-year-old Greek basketball player has spoken out against racist abuse she says she received online while representing Greece at the FIBA U16 Women’s EuroBasket Division B tournament in Ioannina.
Lisa Itoya, a guard for Panathlitikos Sykies, has Nigerian roots but was born and raised in Greece. She has emerged as one of Greece’s leading players in the tournament, averaging 19.3 points, 4 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
Itoya said she received racist messages questioning whether she belonged on Greece’s national team because of the color of her skin.
Following Greece’s victory over Norway and its qualification for the tournament’s promotion final, Itoya responded in an Instagram post.
“I am Greek-Nigerian,” she wrote, adding that she could have played for Nigeria but chose “the country where I was born, the country where I grew up and the country I call home.”
“I will continue to wear my country’s jersey with pride”
She also said the abuse would not prevent her from representing Greece.
“I will continue to work. I will continue to fight. I will continue to wear my country’s jersey with pride,” Itoya wrote.
The young guard is not new to recognition on the basketball court. The Hellenic Basketball Federation has previously identified Itoya as the leading scorer at Greece’s national U16 girls championship, where she played for Panathlitikos.
Her story also echoes that of one of Greece’s most famous athletes, NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Born in Athens to Nigerian immigrant parents, Antetokounmpo was granted Greek citizenship in 2013 and went on to become an Olympic flag bearer for Greece and an NBA champion.
Like Antetokounmpo, Itoya represents a generation of Greeks whose family roots extend beyond the country but whose personal connection to Greece was formed through growing up there. For Itoya, that identity is not something she appears willing to debate.
“I will continue to wear my country’s jersey with pride,” she wrote.
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