On the social network “Facebook,” he stated that decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, and referees dissatisfied with the system are powerless.
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“I spent about 20 years in the Lithuanian basketball system. During that time, I saw everything: both good periods and very difficult ones. However, in the last three years, I increasingly began to compare the Lithuanian basketball management model to the principle of ‘divide and rule’,” writes O. Barkovskij.
He also expressed frustration that the referees’ pay system has not changed for 10 years, despite economic processes moving forward in the country.
“The system has become increasingly closed, autocratic, where too much depends on one or a few people, and others often fear to speak out loud what they really think because they understand that criticism may cost them their place in the system.
That is why I ultimately decided to step down. I no longer saw a clear direction, a desire to change, or prospects that the situation would improve in the near future.
One very simple example: LKL referees’ pay has practically not been increased since 2016. Ten years. During that time, prices, salaries, the economic situation changed, inflation consumed a huge part of the real value of the pay, yet the system behaved as if time had stopped.
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And here the problem is not just money. The biggest problem arises when one person or a narrow circle of people in an organization gains so much power that others begin to fear contradicting them. When people see problems but remain silent. When criticism is perceived not as an opportunity to improve but as disloyalty. When it is more important to maintain one’s position than to admit mistakes and change something.
We very much like to talk loudly about authoritarian systems in other countries. But sometimes it is worth looking at ourselves: isn’t the principle “be silent, don’t contradict, and you will be in the system” very similar?
The saddest thing is that many in the basketball community see where all this is heading. It is talked about privately, in corridors, among themselves. But there are still very few who speak publicly. O. Barkovskij.
And as long as the leaders do not want or are unable to change, learn, and improve the system, Lithuanian basketball itself will sooner or later pay the price. The problem is not the people who criticize Lithuanian basketball. The problem begins when criticizing within the system becomes dangerous,” shared O. Barkovskij.
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