This summer, the newly accepted NATO member Finland will present their special weapon, Big Ass Shotgun™:
>Utah Jazz All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen intends to fulfill his mandatory service in the Finnish military this offseason, he told ESPN. Military service is mandatory for male citizens of Finland and must be completed by age 30.
>”It’s mandatory, we have to do it, but at the same time we take pride in it, too,” said Markkanen, 25. “I think it sets an example to serve. And I’m confident I can do it in a way that it’s not going to affect my preparation for next season, either.”
He’ll join the Defence Forces’ Sports School in April, most likely:
>Depending on when Utah’s season ends, he’ll either report for his service April 17 or sometime in July. The base he is scheduled to report to is located in the southern part of Helsinki.
> According to the Finnish Federation, “the main task of the Defence Forces’ Sports School is to train reconnaissance squads for emergency and wartime conditions.”
> Many of the conscripts who serve at the school are high-level professional or amateur athletes.
>”Lauri has always said he was going to do this,” said his longtime agent, Michael Lelchitski. “It’s important for him as a citizen to fulfill his civic duty and not have any kind of preferential treatment just because he is a famous athlete.”
>”Of course I’d rather be working out like I normally do [in the offseason], but I’ve heard they do a good job of combining the two. You’re able to do your job working as an athlete and your basic training at the same time.”
Full story:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36088065/utah-lauri-markkanen-fulfill-mandatory-service-finland
by marxman24
24 Comments
Mandatory military service is not good.
oh it’s over for him if WW3
Didn’t Giannis have to do this a few years ago?
The military service for renowned athletes is really just about the PR. The tabloids will go and take photos of Lauri wearing the carbs and maybe doing a bit of assault rifle shooting at a range. He might not even have to sleep at the barracks and he can use all the national team events (practice included) as valid reason for being “MIA”. And you can imagine that practicing for the world cup will happen through the entire summer.
We have these all the time with hockey players, Mikko Koivu did like a day in the barracks and that’s it. Kimi Räikkönen as well. So, really not a massive thing.
Also, the conscripts are not sent to war. It’s us, the ones that already have finished our service and are part of the reserve, that would have to suit up.
“Big Ass Shotgun” is a hell of a nickname
My friend went back to Finland to do his and tore his MCL 😬
Please make him an Honorary Tank Commander.
Why does he need training? He already has experience with tanks.
[For reference, this is Finnish summer](https://i.imgur.com/QY8xVKZ.jpg)
I wanna go to sports school
Lauri’s about to come back with a nordic god’s body.
Didn’t Charles Barkley say something to Dirk like “you’re too damn tall to be in the military”
Interesting. If ever there was a South Korean prospect or other countries with mandatory service, I wonder how their service will affect scouting or their contracts. I used South Korea because even BTS members weren’t excluded from their training.
inb4 Markkanen comes back jacked as fuck. He’ll be a monster in the paint.
When they have a military appreciation night, Markkanen can come out and shake some sergeant’s hand.
I can respect the fact that he wants to fulfill his civic duty and keep his commitment, but there is a 0% chance I would be doing this if I were in his shoes. The man quite literally is having the best season of his career after many people thinking he’d be out of the league within 1-2 seasons. There is no way in hell I’d be doing this. Good on him though.
I know it’s not a movie but I laughed at the thought of Lauri returning as a toughened silent rambo.
*Lauri walks in changing room, highly on alert and eyes darting everywhere for danger*
Horton-Tucker: Hey Lauri! Welcome back! How was it?
Lauri: *stares off into the distance and begins to sharpen knife*
Horton-Tucker: ….Lauri?
Just to make sure I understand, he’ll still be back for the start of next season, right? This isn’t a year-long or multi-year thing?
Here in Germany I was in the last year that had to do it. Biggest waste of time I ever experienced.
He already has experience with tanks.
Built different
Lauri Markksman.
we should do this in the US
Imagine how much ppl would cry on Reddit if we had to do this in the US