Gilbert Arenas has drawn a lot of criticism lately for his callous remarks toward South Sudan and its athletes. When discussing the South Sudanese contingent on his show, Arenas went a bit too far after Team USA played them in an exhibition game that the USA won by one point.
In the midst of criticism, the former NBA player talked about the xenophobic and racist accusations made against him on a recent Gil’s Arena show. The three-time All-Star asserted that his remarks were misinterpreted because, at the time, he was only expressing support for his nation.
What did Gilbert Arenas say about his South Sudan Remarks ?
He clarified that when he made such remarks, he wasn’t acting maliciously. It was simply his method of encouraging his group. Arenas used the “us vs. them” argument as well to support his claims. He uttered:
“One, I’m a true fan, that means it’s my team vs yours and f**k yours…Two, now it’s USA, so, its USA vs everybody else, so, f**k everybody else.”
According to Arenas, he thought it was a disservice to squad USA when he watched American reporters evaluate other teams’ standings against Team USA and give them an advantage over the home squad. He continued, saying:
“I’m sorry, I can’t stand for that. It’s us vs them, you’re an American reporter. I don’t give a f**k what your feelings is.”
The former NBA player also stated that a great deal of people’s desire for Team USA to lose stems from their animosity for LeBron James:
“Since LeBron is on the team, it seems like, whoever hates LeBron…they want to see America lose so they can say, ‘He’s not the GOAT.” But some of Arenas’ comments were truly enough to make people take notice.
The former NBA player declared: “They don’t even have shoes. They get their shoes from America…They have to use the shoes that we have extra, leftover shoes…They don’t even have basketball rims.”
Arenas appears to have some responsibility in this matter because his remarks against South Sudan were demonstrably disparaging. Furthermore, it was hardly related to his backing of Team USA or the American people.
Joel Embiid, a player for Team USA, also expressed disapproval of Arenas’ remarks.
