The storm after Mentzen’s words. Gortat defended the general
Former basketball player Marcin Gortat defended General Wiesław Kukuła and attacked his critics. Sławomir Mentzen shot back at the athlete with a biting question.
It all started with a strong statement from the leader of the Confederation about the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army. Mentzen stated that General Kukuła “does not have the competence to be a corporal” and accused him of lacking command experience.
Mentzen harshly about the head of the General Staff of the Polish Army
The politician referred to an earlier discussion regarding the Polish army’s reaction to Russian drones violating airspace. Gen. Kukuła then explained that what matters when deciding whether to shoot it down is not the cost of the missile, but the protection of people’s lives.
Mentzen’s words resonated widely. They were critically assessed by, among others: politicians from various parties, including Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Mariusz Błaszczak and Krzysztof Bosak.
Gortat sided with General Kukuła
Marcin Gortat also unexpectedly joined the discussion. The former Polish basketball representative publicly defended the general.
“Hats off to the general. A very wrong and very harmful statement about the general from people who probably can’t do a front flip,” the athlete wrote on the X platform.
The post quickly began to gain popularity on social media, and one of the Confederation leaders did not have to wait long for a response.
Mentzen attacks Gortat
Sławomir Menzten responded to Gortat with a short entry in which he asked: “Do you already know how much 7 times 9 is?”
This is a reference to a famous fragment of an interview in the Kuba Wojewódzki and Piotr Kędzierski program, in which the basketball player did not answer a question about a simple mathematical operation.
Internet users quickly picked up on the exchange of words between the politician and the athlete. Some commentators defended Gortat for supporting the army and General Kukuła, others considered Mentzen’s retort to be accurate.
Mentzen himself later emphasized that he had no intention of softening his opinion of the general. As he said, he even regrets that he “didn’t speak more harshly” earlier.
