8:34 PM
Shweta Pandey
Luol Deng became the first Briton to take part in an All-Star basketball game,
but he was injured after only six minutes of action, and appeared to court
controversy by wearing a T-shirt honouring Africa during the pre-game
introductions.
Record-breaker: Luol Deng, shown on the
right, became the first Briton to feature in an All-Star basketball
game, but was injured after only six minutes Photo: REUTERS
The 26-year-old Chicago Bulls forward, originally from South Sudan, stepped on to the platform ahead of the exhibition match on Sunday in wearing a black T-shirt carrying an outline of the African continent and drew attention to it when his name was announced.
The gesture could be judged to violate the dress code for the game, but Deng was relaxed over any possible sanction from the NBA.
"If I get fined, I'm okay," he said after his Eastern Conference side lost 152-149 to the West in Florida. "To me, what I did is worth it for me. I wouldn't do something that's negative. I'm not advertising anything.
"I just felt like being where I'm from and where I came from, it's something that I always wanted to see as a kid. I'm sure there's a kid out there, or a lot of kids, who really enjoyed it and made them happy to see that."
Deng played less than six minutes of the game after injuring his left wrist and was one of only three players not to score a point. He added: "For me, being selected and recognised as an All-Star meant a lot more to me than what I was going to show or do tonight on the floor."
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