NBA Reaches Out For Clarification On Trump’s Executive Order

The NBA reached out to the State Department to understand how President Donald Trump’s immigration ban may affect players from impacted nations, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today relays via Twitter. Here is the statement from NBA spokesperson Mike Bass:

“We have reached out to the State Department and are in the process of gathering information to understand how the executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries. The NBA is a global league and we are proud to attract the very best players from around the world.”

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that restricted immigration from seven countries–Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. The order prevents Syrian refugees from entering the United States and it bans citizens of the aforementioned countries from entering the U.S. regardless of their visa category. There are currently over 30 active protests of the ban at various airports around the country.

The NBA has several players whom could be impacted by this ban. Lakers small forward Luol Deng was born in Sudan and could be impacted. Bucks rookie Thon Maker was also born in Sudan and the team was in Toronto on Friday night before returning stateside, though Zillgitt (Twitter link) reports that Maker had no issues clearing customs with his Australian passport.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr wouldn’t go into specifics about Trump’s ban when asked earlier tonight, but he described what’s going on as “disturbing and disconcerting,” as Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter link) relays.

Hoops Rumors offers our condolences for all those who are impacted by the executive order.

View Comments (24)