Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka has once again faced a lot of negative stereotyping lately as his real age is being questioned. While he stands by being 27-year-old, and knowing where he was born and raised, many are not believing him, and even thinking that there’s no proof that his mother gave birth back in September of 1989.

It’s a sad reality he has to face as even in today’s times, his home country of Congo, and even Africa in general, is being thought of as a jungle, and not having their own civil registry. Ibaka did not take things lightly as he took to his Twitter account to send a powerful message, addressing the issues that surround him these days.

Ibaka deserves a lot of credit for not being afraid to speak out about a very controversial issue, and taking it head on. He is also hopeful that his strong words will turn out to be an eye-opener for those who continue to think of Congo and Africa differently, and that being a professional athlete in the U.S. is not a guarantee to being spared from racist remarks.

This is not the first time an NBA player has had these kinds of problems, as it can be recalled that this past season, Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng also took to social media to post about being a proud refugee from Sudan, after the much talked about travel ban imposed by the U.S. government, which included his home country.