Tyler Dorsey reacts to racial insults by Panathinaikos' fans in Game 2 / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

Just a couple of hours after Olympiacos Piraeus had once again conquered the OAKA arena, beating hosts Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 78-72 in Game 2 of the Greek finals, Tyler Dorsey took to Twitter claiming that he was subject to racial harassment by local fans.

Tyler Dorsey

MIN:24.17PTS:12.82 (51.67%)REB:2.34As:1.97ST:0.5BL:0.11TO:1.79GM:38ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

"I never say anything and don't care what fans say, but Panathinaikos fans have to do better. [You] can't be calling players monkeys, you got black players on your own team," the 26-year-old shooting guard wrote on his personal account.

Dorsey, who was held down to only three points in the first half of Game 2 before exploding in the third quarter with another 13 (he scored 17 overall), has been feuding with Panathinaikos and their fans almost since the beginning of the season.

In the EuroLeague regular season derby held at OAKA, Olympiacos were up by 16 points with a few seconds left on the clock. Dorsey chose to shoot the ball instead of just dribbling until the buzzer. He eventually scored a three-point shot, causing PAO fans irritation.

In the Greek Cup final, held in Crete last February, Dorsey was the MVP, going off for 21 points on 7/13 from the field.

However, the Dorsey-PAO beef went to another level once the Greek finals started. In Game 1, held in Piraeus, the Greek-American guard got into some pushing and shoving with the Greens' Lefteris Bochoridis.

At some point, Dorsey grabbed Bochoridis' leg in an attempt to stop him from running in transition, a move that resulted in an unsportsmanlike foul.

A few minutes later, it was PAO's guard who made a harsh foul on Dorsey, laying him on the floor. Dorsey responded with an unsuccessful reverse dunk attempt in the game's last possession when Olympiacos were up by 13 points (74-61).

His subsequent Instagram story, in which he lamented missing the dunk and referred to "bench players talking like starters," made abundantly clear that he wasn't at all eager to bury the hatchet.

Tyler Dorsey

Team:Olympiakos PiraeusPosition:PG, SGAge:26Height:193 cmWeight:83 kgBirth place:California, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Right after Game 2, arguably Dorsey's best in the Greek playoffs, the Reds' scorer made another Instagram post.

"What they going say now, I love this game. This is what it's all about! One more to go," he wrote in the caption while referring to OAKA as his second home and adding more fuel to the fire.

Dorsey's teammates at Olympiacos were quick to react. Hassan Martin, Thomas Walkup, Moustapha Fall, and the club's official account endorsed the post.

Of course, reporting a racist incident has nothing to do with the standard trash-talking, even if that includes altercations with fans as well.

As former Promitheas Patras center Danny Agbelese commented on Twitter, in Greece, the standard practice in cases involving racial slurs is to turn a blind eye to what has been said (or even done).

"They'll tell you to ignore them. They don't really address or punish the racism by fans all over Greece," the American big man wrote.

With the series going back to Piraeus for what is slated to be the last game, we might not have seen the last episode in the dispute between Tyler Dorsey and Panathinaikos' fans or players, on and off the social media platforms.

Thank you for being with us! Subscribe to BN+ and browse ad-free.