•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Ankara, Turkey. A team that takes to the court during timeouts is the one that is stirring up the most controversy at the basketball world championships.

A dance squad from Ukraine, known as the Red Foxes, has performed at Ankara Arena during a majority of the games involving the six teams in Group C.

But in each of Turkey’s past three games, one of which was attended by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and another by the country’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, the dancers have disappeared.

The speculation is that the scantily clad dancers were pulled to avoid performing in front of Turkish government officials, but no one can agree as to why.

The dance team’s coach, Elena Rozhkova, said her team was pulled from the past three Turkey games for a “political” reason.

And FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, admits to making cultural adjustments. But the Turkish Basketball Federation said the dancers were not scheduled to perform.

“I would like to assure you that the decision had no influence from either the government or the federation itself,” Sancar Sonmez, the Turkish federation spokesman, said.

In a country that is almost entirely Muslim, where Asia and Europe intersect, and where secular Western and more devout Muslim cultures mingle, the issue has become divisive. Muslim women are often expected to dress more modestly.

“I think it was planned, it was not coincidence,” said Nagehan Alci, a columnist for Aksam, a prominent daily newspaper here. “But it was also not something that the prime minister would be happy with.

“He’s a conservative, but he’s also a democrat. It would be harmful if he was involved in limiting people’s freedom of expression.”

FIBA was adamant that the decision for the dancers not to appear did not come from it.

“This is not FIBA’s decision, and the dancers will continue to perform at other games in Ankara involving other countries,” FIBA said in a statement.

“The dancers bring much fun and joy to fans watching games and help to create a vibrant, happy atmosphere in the arenas.”

There has been open speculation in the news media here that pressure came from the government to eliminate the dancers from Turkey’s games.

Others say that Turgay Demirel, the Turkish Basketball Federation president, made the move to gain favor with government officials.

After dancing during games between Russia and China and Greece and the Ivory Coast on Wednesday, the Red Foxes did not appear for the finale between Turkey and Puerto Rico.

“It’s a political question,” said Rozhkova, the director of the Red Foxes. “I have no comments about it.”

Alterations made for the dance routines at different arenas of the world championship in Istanbul cast a doubt on the Turkish Basketball Federation’s explanation.

The FIBA secretary general, Patrick Baumann, said “special arrangements” were made for the dancers during the US-Iran game in Istanbul on Wednesday.

In previous games, the dancers had been scantily clad and featured one routine in which a dancer pulled her legs through the basketball hoop and did a split over the rim while hanging upside down.

The Iranian political delegation appeared bothered by this. During timeouts, when the dancers appeared, people stood in front of them in the VIP area to block views.

On Wednesday, however, the dancers were much more covered up out of respect for the Iranians. They wore black tights to cover their legs and oversize white T-shirts with black wristbands.

They later came out in tights and tank tops. That was a stark contrast from the miniskirts and bare legs and midriffs that had been a staple of their previous routines.

In Turkey, the decision has been hotly debated.

“It’s crazy,” said a former Turkish national team member, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution by the government. “In a secular country like Turkey, they shouldn’t have to do that.”


The New York Times