The NBA community was deeply saddened and troubled by President Donald Trump’s self-described ban on immigrants and refugees from Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry called it “bull—-,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy described the ban as “scary” and both Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered their always-poignant view on the President’s executive order.
The ban had a unique impact on Bucks rookie Thon Maker and Lakers veteran, Luol Deng as both players initially hail from Sudan. Not wanting Maker and Deng to be restricted from playing in Toronto or in any games outside of the country, the NBA reached out to the State Department for clarification.
“We have reached out to the State Department and are in the process of gathering information to understand how this executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries,” an NBA spokesman said in a release. “The NBA is a global league, and we are proud to attract the very best players from around the world.”
The whole situation is not sitting well with Deng, who as he tweeted out on Monday, is a proud refugee: