Nets' Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, practicing Muslim, calls immigration ban 'BS'

By Sports Illustrated and SI Wire/Sports Illustrated
Published

Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson—a Muslim—spoke out against Donald Trump’s immigration ban on Saturday, calling it “BS.”

The comments came as President Trump signed an executive order which bars citizens from seven predominantly-Muslim countries from entering the country over the next 90 days. Trump also discontinued the Syrian refugee program.

Here’s what a choked up Hollis-Jefferson told the New York Post:

“We try to teach people not to point the finger, blame a whole [group]. You can’t judge a whole group by one’s actions at the end of the day. And I feel like that’s not right. That’s definitely not right,’’ Hollis-Jefferson said Saturday before they faced the Timberwolves. “You can’t speak for all Muslims, because all Muslims’ hearts aren’t like that. Most of them are pure, really believe in a different way and a different livelihood.”

At that point, Hollis-Jefferson had to look away at the Target Center wall, and compose himself, apologizing for getting emotional.

“This is kind of hard. My bad. This is kind of touching … just being a part of that community and a part of that family,’’ Hollis-Jefferson said. “I feel like this should definitely be handled differently, and I feel like more people should definitely speak up and act on it just because it’s BS at the end of the day.”

In a statement, the NBA said it has reached out to the State Department and is attempting to sort out how the ban will affect its players who are from the impacted countries.

“The NBA is a global league and we are proud to attract the very best players in the world,” spokesman Mike Bass said.