Players apologize after N-word used during UBA basketball spat
National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) basketball team players have apologized after one of their team members used a racial slur against a Senegalese-Taiwanese player during a University Basketball Association (UBA) game on Saturday, February 27.
At the end of the fourth quarter of a close quarterfinal game, players from NTNU and Shih Hsin University (SHU) got into a heated quarrel during which, an NTNU player, allegedly called Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga (阿巴西) “n****r.”
According to EBC Sports, the game was in the last 10 seconds of play, and SHU were behind three points when SHU players kept trying to foul NTNU. However, the referee didn’t call foul until just 4 seconds were left. When NTNU played the ball from the sideline, SHU again tried to force a foul, causing an NTNU player to fall down, triggering a verbal altercation between players on the opposing teams with just 1.1 seconds left.
Bachir turned to the referee, pointed to Lin Shixuan (林仕軒), and said “He called me a n****r!” The referee appeared to completely ignore this and gave both sides a technical foul.
SHU lost the game with 62 points against NTNU’s 65. Bachir and Lin’s quarrel continued after the game until Bachir’s team mates pulled him away, video footage of the incident shows.
According media reports today, March 1, the NTNU players came forward to make a formal and solemn apology over the incident.
The Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation urged coaches on all teams to prevent racial issues occurring in the league in the future. CTUSF cited the rules of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and said that referees are required to strictly enforce rules against personal attacks and the use of improper words. Use of racial slurs should be regarded as a malicious violation of sportsmanship, CTUSF said.
According to reports, Bachir has lived in Taiwan since he was eight years old, speaks fluent Chinese, and gained Taiwanese citizenship last year.
Full game below:
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