Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas is being criticized for a xenophobic rant following Team USA’s near exhibition game loss to South Sudan’s national basketball team over the weekend that took shots at the South Sudan team and Team USA star Joel Embiid.
Arenas took to TikTok to criticize Team USA’s performance in the game, saying in a video posted to the @bestsportsprocution account that the “males almost lost to some Africans and ‘The King’ had to save us.”
The “King” referred to basketball superstar LeBron James, who made a layup with just under 10 seconds in the game to secure a 101-100 win.
The former Wizards star continued to disparage South Sudan by making comments about the quality of life and insisting the United States shouldn’t be losing to “the Cool Runnings team,” referring to the Jamaican bobsled team from the 1988 Winter Olympics and subsequent Disney film.
“This is crazy, man Embiid over there, throwing the game for his cousins and s–t,” Arenas said at one point.
Embiid was born in Cameroon – not South Sudan – and moved to the United States when he was 16, becoming an American citizen in 2022.
When asked about the comments by Arenas, Embiid said that he didn’t “condone” them and added that he hadn’t heard what had exactly been said.
“If it was that negative it’s just that disappointing,” Embiid said. “Because you see what African basketball has done for us to be in this position to be able to make some sort of impact, even the position that I am [in]. … It’s really unfortunate, especially in the world we live in right now so much negativity.”
Reaction among social media users has been quick to condemn the comments made by Arenas, with some questioning the “unnecessary disrespect” toward the South Sudan team to the “shades of xenophobia toward Embiid” and “questioning his allegiance.”
Arenas, who made three All-Star teams in 11 NBA seasons, shared an Instagram story from rapper Thutmose in which the Brooklyn-based artist said he was trying to keep Arenas from “perpetuating” stereotypes.
“Currently trying to educate @no.chill.gil on his recent comments on the South Sudan basketball team, might have to pull up to the podcast to educate my brother more on not perpetuating ridiculous stereotypes,” Thutmose wrote.
The next time the South Sudan and American teams meet will be at the Olympics in Paris during the group stage on July 31, which also includes games against Serbia on July 28 and Puerto Rico on Aug. 3.
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