Sports

Net chokes up: I’m Muslim, and Trump’s ban is ‘BS’

MINNEAPOLIS — Just thinking and talking about President Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim ban had Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — who is Muslim — choking up. But the actual executive order hit the young Nets standout far harder.

“We try to teach people not to point the finger, blame a whole [group]. You can’t judge a whole group by one’s actions at the end of the day. And I feel like that’s not right. That’s definitely not right,’’ Hollis-Jefferson said Saturday before they faced the Timberwolves. “You can’t speak for all Muslims, because all Muslims’ hearts aren’t like that. Most of them are pure, really believe in a different way and a different livelihood.”

At that point, Hollis-Jefferson had to look away at the Target Center wall, and compose himself, apologizing for getting emotional.





“This is kind of hard. My bad. This is kind of touching … just being a part of that community and a part of that family,’’ Hollis-Jefferson said. “I feel like this should definitely be handled differently, and I feel like more people should definitely speak up and act on it just because it’s BS at the end of the day.”

Trump’s executive order bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days. It also denies entry to all refugees from the countries — of which the combined population exceeds 130 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“I kind of feel like things could be handled differently. Me being Muslim, me knowing a lot of Muslims, it’s definitely, definitely heartbreaking to see,’’ said Hollis-Jefferson, who was born in Pennsylvania. “A lot of my college friends are Muslims, and their families are in some of those countries. Just seeing that, my heart goes out to them, how they feel about it and everything. It’s definitely a tough situation to put people in.”





During the Republican campaign, Trump had called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until we can figure out what is going on.” Asked if he thought there was an element of fear in the Muslim community, or a chance Trump’s actions could incite bad feelings, Hollis-Jefferson said there was.

“Yeah, I believe so, just because, again, I feel like he’s targeting people and singling people out, and then it’s making it as a whole,’’ Hollis-Jefferson said. “But this country or these group of people may feel like, ‘Why are you doing this to us?’ then ‘My family is there’ and etc.

“Him making that decision, it’s just like a big step, you know? Super big. And it definitely affects millions of people, definitely, even ones that aren’t Muslim. People have a heart, people care. It’s just sad to see.”





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