The Russian Basketball Federation (RFB) has been suspended by governing body FIBA, putting its participation in the 2016 Olympics "in doubt," according to Dmitriy Rogovitskiy of REUTERS. The RFB published a letter from FIBA on its website on Wednesday stating that the Russian federation "had been immediately disqualified from competition." The suspension, if still in place, will rule Russia out of the EuroBasket in September, which doubles as a qualifying competition for the Olympics. RFB Honorary President Sergei Chernov said, "Russia's participation in the European Championship in the autumn and the 2016 Olympics is under a real threat." This comes after years of instability at the RFB, "which culminated in a June court decision that forced the federation to hold new presidential elections." Chernov: "We all need to think together how to find a way out of this situation. This includes the RFB, the sports ministry, the Russian Olympic Committee. They all need to think." RFB presidential elections are due to take place on Aug. 25 and former NBA player Andrei Kirilenko is set to stand as a candidate. FIBA said in its letter that "interference in the running of the RFB" was behind its decision. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that "they would be prepared to contest the suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport." Mutko: "I will fly there myself to meet with them (FIBA) and take care of the situation. You can't deal with Russia like this" (REUTERS, 7/29).
