Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas faced backlash for a ‘xenophobic' rant aimed at Team USA star Joel Embiid and South Sudan's national basketball team following their near-upset of Team USA in London.
Embiid, while talking to the media, addressed Arenas’ comments after the Americans won against the Germans 92-88.
Joel Embiid's response to Gilbert Arenas
“I'm Cameroonian… if it was that negative, it's just disappointing because you see what African basketball has done for us to be in this position to be able to make some sort of impact.” said Embiid who is slowly coming to form after a number of poor showings during the Team USA Showcase.
Team USA escaped South Sudan 101-100 in an Olympic tune-up on Saturday, clinching the win with a LeBron James lay-up in the final 10 seconds. South Sudan was a 43.5-point underdog before the game nearly beat a team of USA All-Stars.
South Sudan led double-digits for much of the game, causing many to think the four-time defending gold medalists were not reaching their full potential.
Arenas' xenophobic remarks
“The males almost lost to some Africans. And “The King” had to save us,” Arenas stated
Arenas also mimicked using a blowgun to reference South Sudan, implying it was insulting to lose a basketball game to someone from that background.
“We almost lost to the ahi-ahi tribe,” the former NBA star remarked.
“This is crazy. Man, Embiid over there god damn throwing the game. He throwing the game for his cousins and s***. We ain’t supposed to be losing to air up there.”
Gilbert Arenas targeted Embiid given that the 76ers star chose to play for Team USA in the Paris Olympics, turning down opportunities to represent France and Cameroon.
“They don’t even have shoes. They get their shoes from America. We’ve got to ship them shoes. They don’t even have basketball rims, dog. Manute Bol, I saw he had to walk like an hour-and-a-half to shoot basketballs. … They are shooting on peach baskets in dirt, no shoes,” Arena continued.
Team USA was expected to coast to a win, leading to a barrage of hot takes and memes after winning by a single point. However, none were as outlandish as Arenas's remarks, which some have labeled as xenophobic for mocking Embiid and, by extension, Black culture.
South Sudan's rise
South Sudan’s basketball program, led by former NBA veteran Luol Deng, has made impressive progress, resulting in their qualification for the 2024 Olympics.
The nation, which gained sovereign independence just over a decade ago, has achieved remarkable success on the international stage. Arenas' disparaging comments overlooked these significant accomplishments of the South Sudanese national team.
Deng has personally funded much of the work necessary to assemble a team for the world's newest country. In his role as the president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation, he has sought out players with South Sudanese heritage and recruited them for the team.
They secured an Olympic spot by finishing as the top-ranked African team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
They beat Great Britain 84-81 in a summer exhibition game and fell to Argentina 81-72 in their initial friendly match on July 15.
Olympic preparations
South Sudan’s first game of the 2024 Paris Olympics is scheduled against Puerto Rico on July 28. They are in Group C, which also includes Team USA and Serbia.
As for Joel Embiid and Team USA, they will travel to Paris to advance their Olympic preparations. They will open their group stage against Serbia on Sunday, followed by matches against South Sudan on July 31 and Puerto Rico on August 3.
The Americans are gunning for their fifth consecutive gold medal and their eighth in the last nine Olympics.
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