“Yes, the appeal was filed yesterday,” 15min responded D.Domarkas.
Just in the past few days, the 30-day period expired – within that time ALK could have appealed the decision announced on August 14.
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R.Javtokas last November filed a lawsuit asking the court to annul the decision of the Ethics, Discipline and Appeals Commission (EDAK) of the association “Lithuanian Basketball” dated October 15 and declare it invalid.
By this decision, the mentioned commission found R.Javtokas to have violated ethical standards and imposed a fine of 858 euros on him.
15min reminds that the former basketball player was punished by EDAK for his statements last September on the show “Uncomfortable Questions with Rolandas Mackevičius,” when R.Javtokas called the husband and father of basketball player Kamilė Nacickaitė-Van der Horst “black,” and also stated that the basketball player had previously “been like with a woman.”
Due to such statements, K.Nacickaitė-Van Der Horst turned to EDAK, which initiated disciplinary proceedings against R.Javtokas and, after reviewing them, imposed the mentioned fine.
According to “Lithuanian Basketball,” although the former player apologized for his statements, he did not consider them degrading. This was allegedly just a defensive position by R.Javtokas to avoid disciplinary responsibility.
R.Javtokas disagreed with this decision because the commission allegedly does not have the authority to impose disciplinary sanctions. Moreover, he denied committing the violation, accusing the “Lithuanian Basketball” commission of procedural violations, expanded interpretation of the complaint applying a disproportionate sanction, and not granting the right to respond.
The Kaunas District Court, having examined the case, granted R.Javtokas’s claim and annulled the commission’s decision to impose a fine on him.
The reason for this decision – the commission had no legal basis to initiate disciplinary proceedings at all.
The association “Lithuanian Basketball” was also ordered to pay R.Javtokas litigation costs amounting to 3606.06 euros.
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Read more about the Kaunas District Court verdict and its arguments here.
15min contacted D.Domarkas with a request to explain why the decision was made to appeal to a higher court and what outcome “Lithuanian Basketball” hopes to achieve in the Kaunas District Court verdict.
“We filed an appeal yesterday. After evaluating the first instance court’s decision, the relevance of the issue, and the complexity of the case, we decided to seek the appellate court’s review. In our assessment, significant aspects of the case were not sufficiently examined in the first instance court’s decision,” explained the ALK Secretary General, who on Monday temporarily took over the president’s duties after M.Balčiūnas stepped down.
By the Kaunas District Court decision, ALK was ordered to pay a significant amount of litigation costs to R.Javtokas, and the association itself incurred additional expenses. If the higher court’s verdict is also unfavorable, it would cost “Lithuanian Basketball” even more.
Is it reasonable to spend the country’s basketball funds in this way? – 15min asked D.Domarkas.
“This case raises fundamental legal questions regarding the activities of disciplinary bodies of sports organizations. There are few cases and court practices of this nature, so the case’s significance is broader than the specific dispute – the legal interpretation principles formed in it may affect the activities of disciplinary bodies of all sports organizations,” replied the ALK head.
R.Javtokas is one of the biggest critics of the current ALK leadership and M.Balčiūnas, having lost the 2024 Lithuanian Basketball Federation presidential election to him. Has ALK considered this factor and the communicative consequences of further legal battles with R.Javtokas?
“We understand the questions about litigation costs and how this case is perceived in the public space. However, we base the decision to file an appeal on the need to clarify important issues for the sports disciplinary system and to seek clearer application practices,” said D.Domarkas.
This is not a personal confrontation with Robertas Javtokas.
Interestingly, ALK filed the appeal on the same day M.Balčiūnas resigned from the presidency of this organization. Did this person participate in the discussion on whether to continue the legal battle with R.Javtokas? And if not, who made this decision?
“I want to emphasize once again: this is not a personal confrontation with Robertas Javtokas. This is a complex legal dispute, and we view the appeal as a process of strengthening the sports disciplinary system, aiming for greater legal clarity for both organizations and the individuals affected by their decisions,” D.Domarkas replied succinctly.
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