NBA

Mural Featuring Israeli NBA Player Vandalized With Swastika

Sacramento Kings second-year player Omri Casspi is a groundbreaking individual: not only is he the first Israeli native selected in the first round of the NBA draft, he’s the first Israeli to play in the league, period. And after averaging 10 points a game for the Kings as a rookie, it looks like he’s just getting started.

It’s an inspiring tale – well, for most people. Others, apparently, feel like it’s a grand idea to paint a swastika over a Sacramento mural featuring Casspi’s likeness. And in what is certainly not a coincidence, the defacing just happened to come right in time for Rosh Hashanah.

The Sacramento Bee caught up with Casspi, who is currently in Israel and very understandably said he was “hurt” by the vandal’s actions, but also graciously praised the people of Sacramento:

It’s hurtful to think that this is 2010, and there are still people like that out there. I almost don’t know what to say. It’s probably just some idiot who wants some publicity. But I know the people in Sacramento, and they have been wonderful to me.

This incident would be bad enough either way, but if possible, the knowledge of what Casspi is doing in Israel makes it even worse. Also from the blog post in the Bee:

He spent part of last week participating in a basketball camp designed to foster friendships among Israeli and Palestinian youngsters.

So not only is he an inspiration to the people of Israel, but he is actively working to promote peace in the Middle East.For that kind of record, he gets…a swastika over his picture.

Come on, humanity.

AP photo, via