Dennis Schroder says that growing up Black in Germany was "tough."
German national team captain Dennis Schroder felt a deep sense of pride as he waved the German flag on a boat on the Seine River during the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
For Schroder, it was more than just a moment of national pride -- it symbolized his personal triumph over racism in his homeland.
"For me, the biggest thing was to carry that flag for the whole Olympic team," Brooklyn Nets guard told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. "That was my goal to set a big statement, an important statement in Germany, to show all those [who are] Black, light skin, whatever color, even if you're Asian, if you're Turkish, that you guys can do something with a lot of hard work and passion. And that was a big statement that we set in Germany that a Black guy carried that flag."
The 30-year-old star guard faced various forms of non-acceptance during his early days in Germany as a Black person.
"Growing up in Germany was tough, man. It's wrong, but I just went with it," Schroder recalled. "In kindergarten, people asked, 'Why is your skin Black? 'Why are you dirty?' and all those little tough moments. But then, when I started playing basketball at 12, I went to a basketball school, and people started respecting and accepting me as a Black person because I did something for Germany and for my hometown.
"And remembering all those tough moments, it makes it even sweeter to carry the flag and show everybody it's possible to do something," he continued. "Because I remember when I was little people told me it's not possible to do that. My dreams were the NBA, and I said it, and people were laughing. And it's for sure possible if you put a lot of hard work and passion into it. Of course, you got to have a lot of luck. That comes with it.
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Greece"You got to have a family who supports you. My family was there since day one, every single game, never missed a game. So, all their support as well was just incredible. It's just, it's like a dream still to me that worked out that I carried the flag. That's insane."
When asked what advice he would give to a young Black German child facing racism today, Schroder offered words of resilience.
"Everything I went through, of course, it makes me so mentally tough," he noted. "I would probably tell him that it don't matter what anybody says, it don't matter if it's the teacher, it don't matter if it's your coach, you got to see the vision. You got to, of course, stay humble, listen to your family. But at the end of the day, you just got to focus on what you want to accomplish because you can accomplish whatever you want."
Schroder, fresh off leading Germany to a victory in the 2024 FIBA World Cup, has now helped his team reach the Olympic semifinals for the first time ever. They are set to face France on Thursday at 17:30 CEST.
