Luol Deng Snaps Back at Gilbert Arenas for Controversial South Sudan Comments

As a part of his sports media career, Arenas isn’t shy about letting controversial opinions fly. However, having such an approach to your media career can result in making unnecessary mean comments that are uncalled for.

This is what Arenas had to deal with when he made snide remarks about Team USA’s surprisingly tough game against South Sudan.

Luol Deng sent a powerful message to Gilbert Arenas after his rude remarks about South Sudan basketball

South Sudan gave Team USA a tough time during their tune-up game. LeBron James had to step up with his 25 points to lead the squad to a narrow 101-100 victory.

While the loss had James remind the team not to underestimate any opponents they meet on the international stage, Arenas took it as an opportunity to clown on Team USA at South Sudan’s expense.

He made snark comments about how poorly Team USA played, even going so far as giving the South Sudanese players a degrading nickname in the process.

Deng posted a long and passionate statement on his Instagram account, saying that while he doesn’t really care for Arenas’ comments, he did say that his words were hurtful to young African ballers who look up to him.

He also called out Paul Pierce for his lack of research on the squad, but he decided to take things in stride with his message.

Per Fadeaway World’s Vishwesha Kumar:

“I actually want to thank both of them for giving us this platform to respond and inform others. We’ve worked very hard in the last four years to be here, and we can’t allow mere seconds to take that away. Instead, let’s appreciate the moment and use these comments as an opportunity to educate.”

“Being loved is always better than being tolerated. If we as a people realized the greatness from which we came we would be less likely to disrespect ourselves.”

Basketball has grown beyond the United States, and the fact that Team USA cannot win convincingly against teams considered underdogs is a testament to how much the game has grown.

It’s high time for Arenas and the rest of the American basketball fans to realize that international games will be tougher (and more entertaining) from this point on. They should welcome it with open arms and prepare for an exciting Olympic Games.