Daniel Hackett opens up on departure from CSKA and absurd situation in Russia / News - Basketnews.com

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Virtus Bologna point guard Daniel Hackett gave a long interview to the Italian magazine 'Sportweek' in which he discussed his decision to leave CSKA Moscow after four years and the general situation in Russia.

Daniel Hackett

MIN:21.55PTS:8.45 (52.43%)REB:1.91As:2.59ST:0.77BL:0.05TO:1GM:22ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

Hackett confessed that for him, it wasn't an easy decision to leave a club where he spent four years of his career.

"I hoped until the very end that our season could have continued," Hackett said. "But when the EuroLeague decision became official, everything changed. My foreign teammates left the club one after another, I was the last one to leave, but it was the moment for a change. After four years there, though, it was ugly to leave in that way".

The Italian point guard also talked about the general situation in Russia and how the people in the country feel about the war in Ukraine.

"Nobody inside the club wanted this to happen," Hackett explained. "I'm pretty sure that 90% of Russian people don't want the war. Unfortunately, there you live under a dictatorship that now it's shown in all its force and obviousness."

"They don't allow dissent or the free flow of ideas. We saw that the first night after the war began. In the Red Square alone, more than 2000 people were arrested," he added.

When asked about Putin's intentions, Hackett replied that it's really hard to read the Russian leader.

"It's really hard for me to understand what's in Putin's mind," Hackett added during the interview. "He doesn't share emotion or feelings, let alone his thoughts. I don't know what reasons there are behind this war, but people are dying, and in 2022, it feels absurd to me that people must die because of some 'conflicts' between countries."

"I'm sure of one thing, though: in Russia, the common people don't want this war. The real issue is what they show to that people, making them believe things far from the truth," Hackett said.

"Many people know that they live in a dictatorship," Hackett continued. "They accept the fact because they have no other choice. Unless the weight of the financial sanctions becomes so unbearable that they'll riot, but at this moment, people are on their knees, and they have no other choice."

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