NBA players, executives denounce Donald Trump’s Muslim ban as ‘B.S.’ – Yahoo Sports
Concern spread through the Milwaukee Bucks locker room following Fridays road game against the Toronto Raptors. The Bucks were scheduled to fly back to Milwaukee hoursafter President Donald Trump issued an executive order forU.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to ban immigrants fromseven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the country, and the teams 10th overall pick, Sudanese-bornforward Thon Maker, was naturally on the plane back to his adoptedhome in America.
Maker wasborn in war-torn Wau, Sudan, now part of independent South Sudan. Sudan is among the countries listed onTrumps order, along with Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen; South Sudan is not. Makers family escaped to Uganda when he was 5 years old, and theymoved to Australia as refugees thereafter. He emigrated to the U.S. in 2011, where he played high school basketball for three yearsuntil finishing his prep career in Canada. Hetravels on an Australian passport, and Bucks officials confirmed Saturday the 19-year-oldreturned from Toronto to Milwaukee without incident.
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Hes back, Bucks senior vice president Alexander Lasry, the son of Milwaukees team owner and Moroccan immigrant Marc Lasry, said in response to concern from fans on Twitter. But we have to pray for those who arent as lucky. This is a massive problem and not who we are as a country.
The younger Lasry, whoworked under former President Barack Obamas White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, expanded on his thoughts about Trumps executive order on social mediaSaturday:
I appreciate all the fans concerns and prayers for Thon, he added, and today a Sudanese refugee who fled oppression and is an incredible young man will make his second NBA start. Im incredibly excited and proud of him. Hes a symbol of what makes America great and all immigrants believe about America. But whats going on in the U.S. right now isnt about Thon. Its about all the other incredible immigrants and refugees who will make the U.S. a better place that cant come into our country. This is not who owe are as a country and doesnt live up to our ideals.
Sorry and let me continue by saying what Trump says about immigrants and refugees just isnt what I see. I see incredible people who come here to create a better life for their families. Its why my dads family came here from Morocco. We must continue to share the stories of incredible immigrants and refugees who make America GREAT. Proud that Thon and my dad will be shining examples every day.
Not long after NBA leadershipreached out to the State Department regarding how this executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries namely Maker and Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng (a British citizen also born in Wau, Sudan) a federal judge ruled a significant portion of Trumps policyunconstitutional, allowing immigrants with valid visas or refugee status to enter the country without risk of being detained by border police.
On Saturday night,Maker indeed madehis second careerNBA start, against the Boston Celtics.
By Sunday morning, Trumps administration was already negotiating publicly for a compromise that would allow for extreme vetting of immigrantsincludingthose with green cards, dual citizenship and perhaps even people from more countries than the seven originally listed and that is of particular concern to members of the NBA competingin a a global league with many Muslim players.
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Brooklyn Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, a Muslim born and raised in Pennsylvania, got choked up while discussing the subject with New York-based reporters prior to Saturdays game against the Minnesota Timberwolves (who also feature Muslim players Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad).
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Via the New York Post:
We try to teach people not to point the finger, blame a whole [group]. You cant judge a whole group by ones actions at the end of the day. And I feel like thats not right. Thats definitely not right, Hollis-Jefferson said Saturday before they faced the Timberwolves. You cant speak for all Muslims, because all Muslims hearts arent like that. Most of them are pure, really believe in a different way and a different livelihood.
At that point, Hollis-Jefferson had to look away at the Target Center wall, and compose himself, apologizing for getting emotional.
This is kind of hard. My bad. This is kind of touching just being a part of that community and a part of that family, Hollis-Jefferson said. I feel like this should definitely be handled differently, and I feel like more people should definitely speak up and act on it just because its B.S. at the end of the day.
[]
I kind of feel like things could be handled differently. Me being Muslim, me knowing a lot of Muslims, its definitely, definitely heartbreaking to see, said Hollis-Jefferson, who was born in Pennsylvania. A lot of my college friends are Muslims, and their families are in some of those countries. Just seeing that, my heart goes out to them, how they feel about it and everything. Its definitely a tough situation to put people in.
A number of Muslim NBA players, past and present, echoed Hollis-Jeffersons thoughts on the ban:
Former NBA player Nazr Mohammed is a Muslim raised by Ghanan immigrants in Chicago, where his father was murdered. Soon after posting the above tweet, hewas inundatedwith support on Twitter:
Neither Maker norDeng are scheduled to travel toToronto again this regular season, but the Bucks could face the Raptors in the playoffs. On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus suggested on Meet the Pressthat immigrants like Makerwould likely to be subjected to further questioning when you come into an airport, so this is surely not the last wewill hear ofthis issue in the NBA.
Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Dont Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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NBA players, executives denounce Donald Trump's Muslim ban as 'B.S.' - Yahoo Sports
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