Former Serbian national team player in basketball Vladimir Štimac, was arrested in the night between Sunday and Monday in front of the RTS building on suspicion that, according to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, he "called for a violent change in the constitutional order and incited the participants of an unannounced rally to attack the participants of another announced rally, which is being held in Pionirski Park".
The Serbian basketball community was also divided on the dividing line of the interpretation of Štimč's political involvement, where he is a "fighter for justice" for some, and a "destroyer of order" for others. While some wholeheartedly support Štimac, others, those in positions, remain silent.
"KSS to protect Štimac"
The legend of KK Partizan and at one time the best coach of the Euroleague Dusko Vujosevic he found himself on the front page, as yesterday he harshly criticized the Basketball Federation of Serbia and KK Crvena zvezda.
"The Basketball Federation of Serbia and the club that Štimac played for should come up with some kind of action so that he is acquitted of the crimes he is accused of, which he certainly did not commit," he told Beta Agency and added that "the fight for justice is the main motive of Štimac's activism."
KSS, so far, has not even published any formal statement regarding the Štimac case, as well as the club from Mali Kalemegdan, for which he once played, and which he is now the biggest critic of among basketball players.
A secret relationship
Malicious would say that "there is some secret connection" between these two basketball entities, so the positions (or rather, the absence of position) regarding the arrest of their former first team player coincide. The most logical explanation for this can be found in the fact that Štimac, apart from the current government, was also harsh towards the management of Zvezda, which he once called an "occupied club".
"The announcement of my occupied club by the son of the president (Željko Drčečlić) is so bad, superficial and cowardly that it is terrible. He must not say anything because he would be immediately replaced. And what would he do, he is great in this rotten system," said Štimac, commenting on the club's "lukewarm" attitude after the attack on Nikola Kalinić, a regular visitor to the protest.
"Let the trouble be unceasing"
There was some kind of support from the red and white camp, namely former captain and also critical Branko Lazić (the same malicious ones would say that he is no longer in the team because of such an attitude).
"May the fight be unceasing," Lazić wrote briefly on Instagram along with a picture of Štimac in a Crvena zvezda jersey.
Lazić commented a little earlier and hunger strike of Dijana Hrka, the mother of a young man who died in an accident at the Novi Sad railway station a year ago.
"They played the song Došla majka to look for her son in front of Dijan Hrko. I will repeat one more time, they played the song Došla majka to look for her son in front of Dijan Hrko," he wrote on Instagram.
Mića Berić, Bora Milutinović, Ratko Varda, Milica Dabović...
Miroslav Mića Berić, the former defender of the basketball team of Yugoslavia, also supported Štimac. He said in the podcast "Pick and roll" that it is sad to see how they treat the former national team player.
"Those pictures are sad. They are not even aware of what they are sending abroad. A former national team player was arrested. They approach him, knock him down, terrible," he said.
Although he built his name on the football field, former coach Bora Milutinović, using basketball vocabulary, commented on this case.
"Full support for the great fighter, basketball champion Vladimir Stimac. With his arrest, another huge 'misstep' was made," wrote Milutinović on Instagram.
Ratko Varda, who during his career played for Partizan, Real, Žalgiris and many other big clubs, came to the defense of his colleague.
"Is there any shame in all you 'hoodies'?" he asked himself.
And Milica Dabović, bronze medalist at the Rio Games and European champion, supported Štimac, with whom she shared the balcony of the City Assembly in the summer of 2016.
"Arresting Shtimac, who defended the colors of the flag in the national team, and today defends a disenfranchised mother, is proof that we have lost what little humanity we had," she said on X.
The basketball world and the crisis in Serbia
The basketball world, except of course, its institutional part, as we can see, is not always disinterested in political and social events in the country. It is certainly louder than the worlds of some other sports. Individuals (it's enough to say Bodiroga, let's not go any further) knew how to express firm positions regarding various issues during these crisis years, and even earlier.
Diana Hrka's hunger strike showed it again.
Bayern Munich captain and former national team player Vladimir Lučić wrote on Instagram that "while the mother is looking for justice for the child she will never hug again, because no one has answered for a year - in the pen, the kid sings 'The mother of her son has gone to look for him'" for a few thousand dinars.
"The bottom of society is no longer a metaphor. Where did they grow up and who raised those inhumans?!" Lucic added.
The musical repertoire before the assembly was criticized by another Zvezdaš - Igor Rakočević.
"Singing to a grieving MOTHER who lost her youngest, and callously mocking her in the face, can only be done by the worst human being," commented Rakočević.
What is currently happening with Štimec
Vladimir Štimac was arrested on Monday at 00:40 in Takovska, during a rally in support of Dijana Hrka, who went on hunger strike that day. He was released soon after, and then detained again by the police. The Criminal Police Department asked for a 48-hour detention, although the court previously accepted the defense's appeal.
Lawyer Nikola Lakić stated that his client is accused of allegedly "calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order", as well as the fact that the entire process was "directed at Andrić's wreath".
In the meantime, the media reported that the Serbian national team player and activist fell ill and that he was returned to the station on November 29 after being examined at the Emergency Center.
The wife of Vladimir Shtimac, Aleksandra, announced today on the X network that her husband was released to defend himself.
