Cameroon native Joel Embiid’s 2023 announcement that he would play for his adopted country, the United States, in the Paris Olympics this summer instead of France left some French fans frustrated.
Now, with the Games less than 100 days away, one former French basketball star is calling for the host country to bar the Cameroon native from entering France.
Frederic Weis, who played for the French national team from 1999 to 2007, says the 7-footer has disrespected France.
“I hate him for the things he did,” Weis said, according to Eurohoops.net. “I think he doesn’t have any respect for France and also for all the people who are asking for a French passport and don’t get it.”
Embiid, who was born in Cameroon and moved to the U.S. as a teen, was granted citizenship in both France and the U.S. in 2022. He could represent Cameroon, France or the U.S. in international play.
“It had to be Team USA. I want to play with my brothers in the league,” the Philadelphia 76ers star wrote on X. “I want to play for my fans because they’ve been incredible since the day I came here. But most of all, I want to honor my son who was born in the US. I want my boy to know I played my first Olympics for him.”
Weis said he didn’t care about Embiid’s reasoning.
“I would take away from him the French nationality and I would ban him from entering France,” Weis said on a French radio show. “You will not play in the Olympics. You will come to the airport with Team USA and we will say: You don’t have the right to enter the territory, go to your home. You are Cameroonian, you are American, you are not French, go away.”
Guidelines from the International Basketball Federation allow each national team to roster one naturalized player in international tournaments. Embiid is slated to fill that role for Team USA when the Paris Olympics begin in July.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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