‘LOL #Holocaust’: NBA player sparks outrage over German selfie
A professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs has apologized after taking a selfie at a Holocaust memorial in Berlin and posting it on social media.
Danny Green, a 27-year-old shooting guard with the NBA champs, said he “showed poor judgment” on Wednesday when he posed for a cell phone portrait at the German capital’s grim Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and then shared it on the web with a caption that quickly caused the gaffe to go viral:
“You know I had to do it one time lol #Holocaust” Green sent to his social media followers.
"Lol" isn't the most appropriate caption for a Holocaust selfie, ask #Spurs G Danny Green: http://t.co/fjSvBlJHYJpic.twitter.com/5XxFHb00e0
— The Fumble (@TheFumbleSports) October 8, 2014
According to The Guardian, Green then changed the caption to “A lot of history here, more than you could imagine...very sad/tragic things happened #holocaust #berlin.”
Soon after he said he was sorry with a series of posts on Twitter apologizing for the incident.
“Yes, mistakes do happen,” Green tweeted to his 200,000-plus followers.
“I want to sincerely apologize for the insensitivity of my post!” he added. “I have great respect n understanding for this country's history n wanted to continue chronicling my experience in Berlin… But showed poor judgement [sic] ...sorry once again.”
Yes, mistakes do happen
— Danny Green (@DGreen_14) October 8, 2014
I want to sincerely apologize for the insensitivity of my post!
— Danny Green (@DGreen_14) October 8, 2014
I have great respect n understanding for this country's history n wanted to continue chronicling my experience in Berlin
— Danny Green (@DGreen_14) October 8, 2014
But showed poor judgement...sorry once again
— Danny Green (@DGreen_14) October 8, 2014
Twitter users didn't let him off the hook easily though, taunting him with responses such as "You're scum," "You were a mistake" and "You are an uneducated moron."
The Spurs then began their preseason with a game Wednesday against Alba Berlin, losing by a single point at the buzzer to the German team’s 94-point win.
“Off to Istanbul,” Green tweeted. The Spurs will be back in the United States to play the Phoenix Suns in Arizona next Thursday
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, or Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, was completed in 2005 and features nearly 3,000 concrete slabs in a 4.7-acre plot in Berlin.
