Milwaukee Bucks rookie center Thon Maker made his second career start in Saturday's 112-108 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. But teammates and friends may have been more focused on how Maker might be affected by President Donald Trump's temporary ban on the entry of non-American citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Maker was born in Wau, Sudan, which became part of an independent South Sudan in 2011. Sudan is one of the seven banned countries, along with Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
Maker moved with his family to Australia in 2002; he has Australian citizenship and travels with an Australian passport. Still, there were concerns for Maker as the Bucks were returning from a Friday night game in Toronto, just as U.S. Customs and Border Protection notified airlines about passengers whose visas had been canceled.
NBA spokesperson Mike Bass issued a statement Saturday concerning the travel ban: "We have reached out to the State Department and are in the process of gathering information to understand how this executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries. The NBA is a global league, and we are proud to attract the very best players from around the world."
A federal judge in New York issued an emergency order Saturday temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from the seven nations subject to the ban.
Maker was born in Wau, Sudan, which became part of an independent South Sudan in 2011. Sudan is one of the seven banned countries, along with Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
Maker moved with his family to Australia in 2002; he has Australian citizenship and travels with an Australian passport. Still, there were concerns for Maker as the Bucks were returning from a Friday night game in Toronto, just as U.S. Customs and Border Protection notified airlines about passengers whose visas had been canceled.
NBA spokesperson Mike Bass issued a statement Saturday concerning the travel ban: "We have reached out to the State Department and are in the process of gathering information to understand how this executive order would apply to players in our league who are from one of the impacted countries. The NBA is a global league, and we are proud to attract the very best players from around the world."
A federal judge in New York issued an emergency order Saturday temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from the seven nations subject to the ban.