Sergei PogrebnyakReporter SportAll materialsEmail to the authorAn unexpected scandal erupted in our basketball. Russian-American striker Joel Bolomboy refused to return to CSKA and went into open confrontation with the army team. The scandal itself has its roots since the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine. Several players immediately left the location of CSKA. Among the departed athletes was Bolomba. The club stated that «such actions are a violation of the terms of the contract, but CSKA is sympathetic to the personal situation of each of the basketball players.» The status of agreements with the players was proposed to be decided when the political and sporting situation normalizes. Since then, Joel has been in the US. Two months later, CSKA decided to return the players. Bolomboy showed a letter from the club on social networks, which says that he is asked to return to the team's location until May 1. Otherwise, the player will be subject to the sanctions that are provided for in the contract. «Get out! I already said that I will not return. You are trying to force basketball players to do what you need by threatening and punishing them. When the situation between Russia and Ukraine escalated, you told the team that we can leave, and you will understand everything,» Bolomboy sharply replied to the club.Who is BolomboyBolomboy was born in Donetsk, although his parents are not Ukrainian. Joel's mother is Russian, and his father is from the Congo. When he was four years old, the family decided to move to the United States, where he began playing basketball. The forward moved to CSKA from the NBA in the summer of 2018, and the club immediately launched the process of obtaining a Russian passport for the player. Already in December, he made his debut for the Russian national team and was not considered a legionnaire. «webkitAllowFullScreen» mozallowfullscreen=»mozallowfullscreen» allowfullscreen=»allowFullScreen» frameborder=»0″>Back in 2019, while working at the matches of the army team in the Euroleague, I was surprised to find that despite the place of birth and the citizenship of the mother, Bolomboy does not speak Russian. The striker himself explained this by the fact that in the family he speaks English and French, and he has not spoken Russian since moving from Donetsk. Of course, he knows basic words like «hello» and «thank you», but he cannot speak Russian. All his interviews during his career in Russia were given in English. Before his debut for the Russian national team, he was even called up to the national team of Ukraine and was in the extended squad for EuroBasket in 2017, but he never made it to the final application for the tournament. «If you ask who I am in my heart — Russian or Ukrainian, then I am definitely Russian,» Bolomboy boldly declared after signing a contract with CSKA.What happens next Bolomboy became the first player who went into open conflict with CSKA after the change in the situation in Ukraine. Hostilities have already forced several foreigners to leave the camp of the army. Each of them, after leaving, thanked the club for understanding the situation and did not express any complaints. Judging by the mood of Joel, he does not intend to return to the club. His current agreement with the club runs until the end of the 2021/22 season. Probably, the player can only pay CSKA the fine prescribed in the documents and wait for the end of the agreement. But the story may not end there if one of the parties then goes to seek justice in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
