Many in the sports world have been speaking out against U.S. President Donald Trump and the actions he has taken so early in his presidency—most notably, the widespread travel ban for which Trump signed an executive order on Friday.
The ban targets seven Muslim-majority nations, prohibiting all travel from those countries and closing the United States’ borders to Syrian refugees.
Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry joined the conversation during a media availability on Monday afternoon, and he didn’t mince words.
“I think it’s absolute bull—-,” he told reporters. (Watch Lowry’s full media availability at the top of this post.)
“This is a real bad situation,” Lowry said. “I bleed red, white and blue. I was born and raised there, and I’ve always been taught to treat everyone the same. It’s a difficult time right now for my country, and it’s sad.
“I think everyone in the world that has a voice has an obligation to speak out,” he said.
“With NBA players … people don’t know that we do pay a lot of attention to everything,” Lowry continued. “We care about our world. We care about our children growing up in this situation. I’ve got two young children. I want them to grow up and be happy about who they are and be proud of who they are and the situation of the country that they’re in.”
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Raptors president Masai Ujiri took a personal stance when talking about America’s current political landscape.
“I think it’s just ridiculous what’s going on out there,” he told reporters Monday. “This is mind-boggling.”
“I’m a prime example of what opportunity is,” said Ujiri, who grew up in Zaria, Nigeria. “Canada gave me opportunity. America gave me opportunity. That’s what this world is about.”
Throughout his career, Ujiri has been dedicated to bringing the game of basketball to youth in communities across the globe.
“Even in Basketball Without Borders, we have kids that come from all over the world,” Ujiri explained, adding that he had been planning a camp this summer in Sudan, which is one of the countries currently on Trump’s banned list. “So, what does that mean? That we are lying to those kids by giving them hope, when teaching them?”
“I just don’t get it.”
