“ If LeBron gets into it, it’s going to go in all directions… ” While Marine Johannes attracted the praise of the “King” himself, Céline Dumerc assures that she does not want any excitement. That the FFBB had no words of congratulations towards the Frenchwoman, after her spectacular first outing in the WNBA final, is not surprising for the GM of the Bleues.
“ Do we congratulate a player every time she scores 14 points in a league? No. Be careful not to be excessive […]. Let’s stop creating a problem where there isn’t one. “, demands the leader while the FFBB, for example, had a word for the Victor Wembanyama’s pre-season debut or those of Sylvain Francisco in EuroLeague.
Present alongside him at a press conference, the president of the Federation Jean-Pierre Siutat and the coach of the French women’s team, Jean-Aimé Toupane, adopt the same posture: four months after the non-selection in navy blue Johannès for Euro 2023, we should no longer go looking for the little beast.
Jean-Pierre Siutat assures that he “ there never was an affair Johannes, there won’t be one in the future “, where the second also seeks to evacuate: ” There is no Marine case. » No “case”, nor “case”, but all the same “ an uncomfortable subject on both sides » recognizes Céline Dumerc.
“She will be in the French team next year, period”
“ She didn’t want it to get to proportions like that. She is not comfortable in the media and has therefore been discreet. I told him that choices were made and must be assumed. She made a different choice but we don’t have to judge it. We were judged on decisions made for the good of a group and we forgot to talk about the French team », Regrets the former captain of the Bleues.
A team which will include the New York Liberty player in its ranks for the Paris Olympic Games. “ She will be in the French team next year, period. », Guarantees Jean-Pierre Siutat. “ We spoke together, she is looking to the future. She is calm. The Johannes file is behind, we look ahead. We lost a lot of time this summer on this and we want to move on », adds Jean-Aimé Toupane.
Céline Dumerc adds that the WNBA player “ got involved » to be present from the start, this time, of the preparation of the Bleues, as required by the authorities.
“ We want the group to work peacefully from the start. We have not changed our tune for Paris 2024. To succeed in an event of such magnitude, we must prepare well. », Finishes the former player.
