ESPN Story Addresses Challenges Cal's Fardaws Aimaq Faces

Fardaws Aimaq is enduring a challenging season at Cal for a number of reasons, and a story by ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf examines those challenges.

The article begins with this:

NOTHING ABOUT THIS season has been easy for Fardaws "Daws" Aimaq.

The leader of a California Golden Bears team that is rebuilding under first-year coach Mark Madsen has endured adversity on the court in a difficult season.

The season on the court has been a challenge, although things seem to be improving in recent weeks for the Bears, who play road games against No. 11 Arizona on Thursday and Arizona State on Saturday.  But there are other challenges for Aimaq, as this excerpt notes:

While that's not easy for any player to digest, the 6-foot-11 forward -- who is currently sixth in the nation in rebounding (10.7 rebounds per game) and third in double-doubles (12) -- has also experienced another challenge, as a Muslim man and the son of an Afghan refugee. Aimaq, who was born in Vancouver, said he often receives praise from members of the Afghan and Muslim communities who support him. He also revealed that whenever he opens his messages on social media, he often sees a lot of hate, too. Sometimes, it's because of his performance on the court. Sometimes, it's a reaction from Texas Tech fans still angered by his decision to transfer to Cal after last season. And sometimes, he said, it's because he's Muslim.

"It's a slippery slope," he said. "I don't really go through a lot of my messages unless it's a day when I'm bored and just looking through stuff. You have to try and do your part by staying focused on whatever is in front of you, and that's just playing basketball."

But when a fan crosses a line, it's a challenge for any athlete to ignore.

During a November tournament in San Juan Capistrano, California, Aimaq said a man called him a "terrorist" multiple times as he walked toward his team's bus after talking to family members in the stands following a 75-72 loss to UTEP. A viral postgame video showed Aimaq in the stands as he confronted the person.

"You want to talk? You want to talk? I'll slap the s--- out you," he said.

"You know, the first time I heard it, I just kept walking," Aimaq said. "We'd just lost, and there was a lot of frustration. I was just thinking about the game, and I didn't really process it until I heard it a couple more times. It was a big group and from there, it led to the incident that happened with the video being taken of that whole confrontation. I don't remember, word for word, what I said. I just remember being frustrated."

The story also discussed Cal's 73-71 win over Stanford, and Mark Madsen's postgame speech to his players: