Mali Basketball Whistleblower Fights For Justice Amid Threats

Bamako: It is no small matter that Djelika “Mami” Tounkara has lost her anonymity. “I am afraid,” Tounkara told DW. “Before my name went public, I had already received death threats. Now, I will need more protection, but I have never had any. So, even though I am afraid, I want to talk, to express myself because I want to protect others.” Her name became public in a decision published by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in June, but her fight for justice began in 2021 when she rejected and then reported the sexual advances of her former head coach at the Malian Basketball Federation (FMBB). Tounkara also said the threats made her feel that she had to leave the country for her own safety.

According to Deutsche Welle, Tounkara’s decision to speak came after yet another setback in her quest for FIBA to acknowledge the harm she has been subjected to for becoming a whistleblower. In its decision published last month, the CAS ruled it did not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal by Tounkara. Tounkara had turned to the CAS after years of seeking justice within numerous FIBA legal mechanisms as she sought remedy for opportunities denied to her. In August 2021, she filed a case with the FIBA Ethics Panel, claiming the FMBB had unfairly dropped her from the national team.

A ruling was delayed by the deaths of three of the five members on the panel, leaving Tounkara the choice of either the two remaining members delivering a ruling or waiting until at least mid-2023 when new panel members would be appointed. Not wanting to wait, Tounkara took the decision to FIBA’s Appeals Panel. It was after this appeal was rejected in 2024 that her lawyers turned to CAS.

“I’m disappointed that the CAS only focused on the technical details,” she said. “FIBA still do not speak about my safety and the safety of the other girls in our country who were abused at the time. CAS believed me, but again they have not done anything to help me at the end.”

William Bock III, who signed on as one of Tounkara’s lawyers in 2022, sees the CAS decision to accept FIBA’s request to rule the court does not have jurisdiction as a significant blow. “It’s the most disappointing result I’ve ever had as a lawyer because of the enormity of the wrongs that Mami has already experienced,” Bock told DW. “We’ve spent four years trying to undo some of the harm that FIBA did by failing her and we’re caught in their maze of internal legal processes that we may never get out of.” This is because when the CAS ruled that it didn’t have jurisdiction, it referred the case back to FIBA’s Ethics Panel.

Bock and Tounkara’s other lawyers have worked pro bono for years seeking to remedy the opportunities they believe she was denied by not being allowed to participate in the 2021 U18/U19 World Cup. Her career was put on hold for over two years, as the death threats she received in Mali confined her to her house and resulted in a significant deterioration of her mental health.

“Mami’s a young woman, but every year that goes by, she loses more of the opportunities that were taken away from her by not being able to participate at a very important point in her career,” Bock said. “Especially in a world event that would have allowed her to be seen by scouts from the United States and around the world. She might have had a chance to have a much better basketball opportunity if FIBA had quickly realized that she was the subject of retaliation.”