Dennis Schroder apologizes to Maxi Kleber for calling him out / News - Basketnews.com

Dennis Schroder apologized to Maxi Kleber for the statements he had made about his Germany NT teammate skipping the 2022 EuroBasket.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Following the public feud between Dennis SchroderandMaxi Kleber, the German Basketball Federation decided to handle the issue internally.

Maximilian Kleber

Position:PFAge:31Height:207 cmWeight:92 kgBirth place:GermanyProfileNewsStatistics

First, by releasing an official announcement regarding the matter, stating that there is nothing to add since the conflict was resolved between the two players and teammates. Secondly, by publishing Schroder's public apology to Kleber.

"After a detailed conversation between men's national coach Gordon Herbert and national player Dennis Schroder, both have once again attached importance to making the following statements at the end of the matter," the latest announcement of the federation reads.

"I would like to apologize to Maxi Kleber and his family for my statements and the resulting inconvenience," Schroder stated.

"It was never my intention to bring someone into an unpleasant situation or unrest in the team. My intention was just to make myself strong for my team and to make it clear that I would do everything for my team.

From my side, all this has never been anything personal against Maxi Kleber. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a direct guy and always assume that my counterpart understands what I mean by what I say and has once again been shown that that's not always the case. I still appreciate and respect him and his career and I hope that he will accept my apology.

I will not answer any further questions in this regard and I am looking forward to the team and the World Cup," Schroder noted.

"If he says 'I will sign my contract this summer and I want to be with the team so that I can earn even more money', then I understand that," Schroder told the "Got Nexxt" podcast. "But if you say to [national team coach] Gordon Herbert, 'I'm Maxi and I want to train ball handling and work on my game in the summer,' then, sorry Maxi, but you don't have a game.

"For me it's like, 'Maxi, working on your game? You can't play in the NT for that?' That bothered me a little bit, to be honest," Schroder, 29, said.

Of course, nothing is expected to change the outcome of Schroder's statements about Kleber missing the 2022 EuroBasket for what he perceived as a poor excuse. The Mavericks power forward's withdrawal from the German national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup is irrevocable.

After Schroder'sinitial criticismandhis further explanation in greater detail, Kleber and his agent issued a public statement on Tuesday via BIG Magazine, with the Mavs forward announcing his decision to skip the upcoming World Cup.

Although Kleber didn't refer to his teammate directly, he stressed that the "recent unfortunate and inappropriate public statements" have made it clear that he's "not fully welcome in the national team."

"The situation that has arisen is unfortunate, but we were able to discuss, reflect and resolve it internally," coach Gordon Herbert confirmed.

"Dennis has shown strength with his apology. He takes great care of his teammates. He is very proud and honored to represent his country.

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