This year, Greece celebrates the bicentenary of its war of independence against the Ottoman Empire, a struggle that led to the establishment of the first modern Greek state. Two centuries of independence offer a unique opportunity to re-examine Greece’s version of ‘we the people’, the ideal that has underpinned countless democratic struggles around the world. What’s more, the marvellous story of the basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo offers us an illuminating way to do this.
Born in Athens in 1994, Antetokounmpo is the son of Nigerian immigrants. According to the law of the time, he could not obtain Greek citizenship, under a general rule applied to thousands of children born and raised in Greece with an immigrant background. In 2013, already a talented basketball player, Antetokounmpo received a phone call from the other side of the Atlantic: he was drafted into the NBA. Yet he could not travel abroad, since he was effectively stateless. His only proof of identity was a contract with a local basketball team in his poor Athenian neighbourhood, and his parents could not travel to Nigeria to obtain his Nigerian citizenship.
Against all odds, Antetokounmpo acquired citizenship when Greece made an exception to its rules on nationality due to his talent. He was then able to make the leap across the ocean. For Antetokounmpo, this was the first step towards a monumental career: he is now a renowned athlete, twice named the NBA’s most valuable player and celebrated the world over. Meanwhile, a reform in 2015 to Greek law means that many other children from immigrant backgrounds can also now acquire citizenship.
