“Don’t take nothing away from South Sudan,” was LeBron James‘ reply after his clutch performance at the end. The 33rd-ranked nation was almost on the verge of upsetting the #1-ranked Team USA. Very few expected the game to be a close affair, and many who were unaware of the quality of the team that qualified for their first Olympics were left astonished. Two people in particular, Paul Pierce and Gilbert Arenas faced the wrath of the netizens after they voiced their thoughts.

Even former NBA Player Luol Deng was upset and took to Instagram to set the record straight. Deng, the South-Sudanese-born star, has been with the team since 2019 serving as the President of the South Sudan Basketball Federation. Stating that he normally doesn’t reply to these kinds of comments, he felt it was important to address the matter now. “I’m not upset or angry at these ignorant remarks made by my former colleagues; I was more disappointed to see them coming from two individuals I’ve always respected.”

Paul Pierce had a preconceived notion about the team before the game, but after the game, he realized his mistake and made an apology. Knowing that Pierce had apologized, Deng said, “The comments made by Paul Pierce showed misinformation and a lack of research. However, he used it as a teachable moment to shed positivity once he was informed. Thank you to Paul Pierce for apologising, that i can respect.”

After accepting Paul Pierce’s apology, Deng addressed the comments from Arenas as “more disrespectful and cruel.” Further stating how the comments from Arenas’ could be damaging to the young and impressionable audience, he wrote, “For young African and African American kids who admire and listen to Gilbert, these comments can make you think less of yourself and make the rest of the world think less of Africans. Those who are easily misled may make comments that reflect self-hate more than pride.”

Former 2x NBA All-Star had represented Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics because South Sudan didn’t have a team. But when the opportunity was available to grow the game in South Sudan, Deng left no stone unturned. Initially, the team had no funds, so Deng bankrolled it by buying equipment and taking care of the travel expenses. But why did Luol Deng feel that he had to address the situation?

Paul Pierce and Gilbert Arenas were loud with their comments

Firstly, Paul Pierce joked that the team had no player over 6’3”. He further added that Lithuania should have played in the place of South Sudan. However, it appeared that Pierce forgot about the hard work they put in as South Sudan beat 11-time African champ Angola in last year’s World Cup qualifier. Thus, becoming the lowest-ranked team to do so since 2004.

Later, Paul Pierce apologized by stating he was not aware of the quality of the team. Prompting him to say, “This showed me the seismic shift of international play.” But Arenas’ comments were even more hurtful, and he even targeted the current Team USA player Joel Embiid. “We almost lost to the Ahi Ahi tribe. This is crazy,” said Arenas. Accusing Embiid, he further added, “Man, Embiid over there goddamn throwing the game because he’s throwing the game for his cousins and sh*t.”

The Cameroonian-born player at the time did not have the full context of Arenas’ message but still he did stand for the right thing. He said, “I don’t know exactly what he said so I can’t comment on it. But if it was that negative, it’s just disappointing.”

It was very mature of Deng to reply to these comments, as he used his platform as an “opportunity to educate.” Much like that, it was also mature from Pierce’s end to realize his mistake and issue a public apology for the same. What remains to be seen is a sincere apology from Arenas’ end.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.