Truth & Rumors > NCAAB

Terrorist list hurts Gonzaga recruit

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Shooting guard Bol Kong has drawn interest from a number of universities and recently received a scholarship offer from Gonzaga. It is the defense he has met off the court that has slowed him -- and could prevent him from ever playing for the Bulldogs or anyone else in the United States. Kong, 20, is originally from Sudan, which is listed by the United States as a state sponsor of terrorism. Although he has lived in Canada since age 7, he does not hold citizenship there. He has been denied a visa to study in the United States three times, and it is unclear if he will ever satisfy the requirements for entry.

New York Times

Mark Few, Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Mark Few, Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
June 5, 2008  09:08 AM ET

Bol Kong is a pretty sweet name.

June 5, 2008  09:11 AM ET

I agree with American immigration policy. We can't have all of these Canadians coming across the border to play basketball. It might put some of our own inner city thugs out of a job

June 5, 2008  09:22 AM ET

They probably won't let him in the country as long as he is a shooting guard.

June 5, 2008  09:42 AM ET

This is ridiculous...let the kid come play.

June 5, 2008  10:05 AM ET

titansftw u are a racist (why do u have to be a thug coming from the innercity)

June 5, 2008  10:13 AM ET

Racist is a term we throw out WAY too often along with hero and awesome. Get over it, he is entitled to his opinion. That is what living in a free society is all about. Oh, by the way, take it for the joking way it was intended idiot.

June 5, 2008  10:36 AM ET

Those rural country boys might pass around a petition to keep him from playing...

June 5, 2008  10:43 AM ET

I feel sorry for the kid but I can't get over his name.

June 5, 2008  11:10 AM ET

Kinda sucks for the kid-
But in reality- if he has been in Canada for 13 years.......
Why HASN'T he gotten ctizenship up there?

June 5, 2008  11:44 AM ET

Kid from terrorist sponsoring country infiltrates United States on basketball scholarship. NCAA all-star by day, Terror Cell leader by night.

Sounds like an awesome movie!

June 5, 2008  11:56 AM ET

C'mon, he can't be any worse than Rasheed or A.I,

June 5, 2008  12:40 PM ET

Also, his name sounds like he's from the dinka tribe - like Luol Deng + Manute Bol. They're the ones that have been getting slaughtered for 25 years. But i guess they're all the same to the State Dept.

June 5, 2008  04:58 PM ET

I'll be the first to say that US immigration policy is completely braindead. Still, why should it make a difference that he's a basketball player? We wouldn't even be having this conversation if he was a math whiz. It's bad to make a retarded policy even worse by pushing a different standard for this kid just because he knows his way around the court.

June 5, 2008  05:32 PM ET

Actually, szquirrel, the policy may be retarded but he's not being held to any different standard. He's being held to the exact same standard as anyone else from Sudan. He isn't getting a free pass because he happens to be an athlete.

June 5, 2008  06:37 PM ET

First, Canada must apologize for the band "Loverboy". Then Kong can play!

June 5, 2008  07:30 PM ET

donruss (a joke ,take it as a joke ha ha ) thats what a racist would say .bruinswin i am more scared of yhe home grown terrorist like oliver north dumping all those drugs on american citizens now thats a terrorist act for u.

June 5, 2008  07:44 PM ET

Kinda sucks for the kid-
But in reality- if he has been in Canada for 13 years.......
Why HASN'T he gotten ctizenship up there?

jgb | 06/05/08, 11:10 AM

Maybe he is proud of his Sudanese heritage , but got tired of being bombed and shot at because he wasn't of Arab lineage. Ever heard of Darfur? They're having some problems there.

June 5, 2008  07:46 PM ET

BTW, this kid has one of the coolest names...ever.

June 5, 2008  09:42 PM ET

Good to know the excellent policies of the U.S. governement are keeping out such threats as shooting guards. Maybe they saw he was a "shooting" guard and thought he was a terrorist. This is the same government that has Nelson Mandela on the terrorist watch list, so such stupidy wouldn't suprise me

 
June 5, 2008  09:44 PM ET

I meant "stupidity"

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