Joel Embiid has responded to Gilbert Arenas’ derogatory remarks about the South Sudan national basketball team.
Arenas made the comments following South Sudan’s narrow defeat to Team USA in a pre-Olympic friendly.
The game ended with Team USA winning by a single point, thanks to a late basket from LeBron James.
Arenas accused Embiid, who was born in Cameroon and plays for Team USA, of helping South Sudan in a disparaging manner.
He claimed that South Sudan’s basketball facilities were substandard and mocked their equipment.
“[Joel Embiid] throwing the game for his cousins [South Sudan] and sh*t… They don’t even have shoes. They get their shoes from America. We gotta ship them shoes… They shooting on f*cking peach baskets in dirt with no shoes,” Arenas said, via ClutchPoints.
Embiid, who is known for his advocacy for African basketball, expressed his disappointment in response.
“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,” Embiid said.
