# Boban Jankovic



## WonderPelekanos

Yesterday evening the Italian National TV has remembered the absurd tragedy of Boban Jankovic, the unlucky player who payed a moment of anger with a perpetual tetraplegia. 

28th April 1993, Nea Smirne, Panionios - Panathinaikos, Greek league semifinals: Jankovic scores, but he's charged with an offensive foul. He doesn't agree, and with unheard violence beats voluntarily his head against the structure of the basket. He falls down, he loses blood from his mouth. 
Everyone understands that a tragedy has happened, he said to the doctor of Panionios "I can't feel my hands". 

He will spend the rest of his life on a wheelchair... for what? A moment of anger, a moment in which this person lost his head. It happens, how many time everyone of us has punched a table or a wall, has expressed his anger and dissappointment with "violence". 
Boban Jankovic had his body and life cut in this fraction of second. Now, after ten years, I still can't find an explication to this fact. At this time, I was shocked. I'm shocked now too. 
Last year I went to watch Panioinos Nea Smirne - Turk Telekom Ankara (3/5/2002), Saporta Cup. His former team decided to give him an "award", and I'll never forget this evening. 
This little arena was full, and when Boban Jankovic has been announced by the official speaker, an incredible standing ovation started. This dured five or ten minutes, while people kept on acclaim his name, "Boban! Boban!". Many were crying, and I can understand them: the emotion and the intensity of these moments were incredibile, it's impossible to describe what was happening during these minutes. 

Yesterday, during this TV emission, two senteces have been told. The first one came from the mouth of the doctor of the team: "_I would have prefered that Jankovic would have died this day_". The second one, has been told by Boban Jankovic: it will be very hard to forget these words. Maybe it's right that these words can't be forgotten: "_the worst thing is when you go to sleep, knowing that tomorrow you'll get up... no, you'll wake up with the same pain_". 

Good luck, Boban.


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## Chef

Poor Boban :sigh: :sigh: 

I didn't know his story, but it's really sad, even more because it's an absurd tragedy

_"the worst thing is when you go to sleep, knowing that tomorrow you'll get up... no, you'll wake up with the same pain". _ 
I guess that must be a torture, but if I was him it would be harder for me to realize that I am tetraplegic because of my fault...:sigh: 

_and with unheard violence beats voluntarily his head against the structure of the basket._ 

He had to beat his head very hard against the basket structure to suffer a tetraplegia... If I had watched that game, i would have nightmares for weeks  

well, good luck Boban


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## Zelena Hracka

I remember that game. It was a pure tragedy. 

Boban didn't hit his head that hard to the structure, but the orientation of his head and spine was such that the damage was maximal. His story is really sad. 

I think that he became a basketball coach. I think I heard about it in the news. I haven't heard anything about him for the last 4-5 months. Does any of the greek folks know what Boban is doing right now?


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## WonderPelekanos

I don't think that *this* Boban Jankovic became a coach. 
He has to be followed always, to have assistence 24 hours each day... he can't even smoke alone, there's a nurse who puts and takes off the cigarette from his mouth... 
I really don't know if I've heard another so upsetting history in my life... it's so "senseless". 
Actually he has a bet agency in Athens, that allows him to pay the enormous amount for his cures. The "Group7" too played a game (or some games) to help him some years ago


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## SkywalkerAC

waht a sad story, that's just aweful. starting to read i thought it was going to be the story of the infamous "italian basketball punch."


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## WonderPelekanos

11h40 p.m. of a Friday night. I go to sleep, today I've not been able to romove from my thoughts not even for a second those images and this terrific history. 
With the sensation that every time they will show again from my mind, it will be like a knife in the heart.


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## Reznor

I remember when I first saw the clip of that play. Here they showed only those 15 seconds... and...damn.... 

One of Boban's best friends, Zopher Abadia (spelling?) at the time played in Israel. I remember him talking about Boban and nearly crying. 

The only bigger tragedy in European basketball for me was the car accident of the gr8 D. Petrovic. Same shocked feel...


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## JGKoblenz

> Originally posted by <b>WonderPelekanos</b>!
> 11h40 p.m. of a Friday night. I go to sleep, today I've not been able to romove from my thoughts not even for a second those images and this terrific history.
> With the sensation that every time they will show again from my mind, it will be like a knife in the heart.


This is a sad, sad, sad story. 

Life can be very hard, but we need to keep things moving, no mathers how bad the situation is. Yeah, I know it is easier to say.


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## WonderPelekanos

Ooops, you were right Zelena. 
Last year he got an offer from the Olympiada Petropouli (suburb of Athens, regional championship) and he accepted: I've found this (touchy) interview (april 2002). 

_"I love basketball, I adore it, and even if I'm on a wheelchair, I've always wanted to be in the arena. This offer is a very important step to show to everyone that I can still offer something"_

*You have the card to be a coach, but no-one didn't trust in you...*
_"I'm a professional coach, I've completed the school for coaches in Beograd. In a period we were with Zelimir Obradovic too! The only thing the distinguishes me from the other coaches is that I can't run on the bound line, and they stand on their feet. Anyway, I can give lessons, I can drive and help my team to win. And I'm not alone, because I've assistant coaches too..."_

*What is the approach you've with people?*
_"They are scared, watching another human being on the wheelchair. They are anguished, touchy, they don't know how to react. I can understand them completely, because me too I found myself at their place, having the same reactions_


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## qwertyu

Yes I was shocked as well when that happened.
Boban didn't really hit his head hard on the structure of the basket. What makes this even more tragic is the fact that Boban thought he was hitting his head on a soft spot and not on iron.

I was shocked when that happened and I hope things go well for Boban. The sad part of his story is that his wife left him a few months after the accident.


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