During a basketball match between Lithuania and Nigeria, a Lithuanian fan reportedly was fined 2,500 pounds ($3,885) because he was making Nazi salutes and monkey chants. Petras Lescinskas was arrested during the basketball game, which Lithuania won.
Other fans quickly came to Leschinskas defense. They claimed that the gesture and chanting was completely misunderstood by the undercover police officers. They announced that Lithuanian supporters condemn all forms of racism and discrimination. Leschinska, himself, released a statement saying, "These are our chants, raised up hands... We've been using the same chants for many years and no one ever told us anything before. They said we were doing some monkey sounds. But when a referee makes mistakes, then we chant fu-fu-fu."
Racism, in any form, is wrong and should not be tolerated. However, in this situation, it seems that the main problem is a cultural barrier. As was explained by fans and Leschinska, Lithuanian react to sports in different ways than people in the U.S. do. It is very likely that the police officers were being overly sensitive and made a big deal out of nothing. But their effort to punishing any form of racism is commendable.
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