Immigration Law

IMMIGRANT OF THE DAY: LUOL DENG - PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER

By Greg Siskind

Sudanese-born, British citizen Luol Deng is a forward for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. As a youngster, his father moved the family to Egypt to escape war in his native land. In Egypt, Luol met fellow Sudanese national Manute Bol, who would later become an NBA player and who served as Luol's mentor. The family was granted asylum status in the UK where Luol quickly became a junior basketball star. He moved at the age of 14 to the US to play high school basketball and at the Blair Academy in New Jersey, he became one of the nation's top high school players.

Deng went on to play for Duke where he helped the team get to the Final Four and then went on in 2004 to play for the Chicago Bulls.

He has also earned a stellar reputation on and off the court. His fellow players have voted him the NBA's sportsmanship award for ethical behavior, fair play and integrity on the court. He was just awarded the 2008 UN High Commission on Refugee's Humanitarian of the Year Award because of Deng's work on the ninemillion.org campaign to brign education and sports to millions of refugee children around the world. He is an active participant in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Tour. And he is a spokesperson for the World Food Programme.

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on November 29, 2008 (boomark / email).