Matthew’s trip to Jerusalem had political overtones from the start, but the basketball game was one of the most entertaining sporting events I have ever witnessed. Part of it was that the Jewish people in this oppressed country were desperately searching for something to cheer about, but a lot of it was Matthew.
There is no shortage of Jews at the executive levels of the NBA, including the commissioner of the league, David Stern. There have been a few great Jewish players in the past including Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes, who played for the Syracuse Nationals throughout the 1950s, and Ernie Grunfeld, the son of Holocaust survivors, who went on to star with the New York Knicks in the 1980s. Today, though, there are no Jewish players in the NBA. An Israeli-born player has never played in the NBA.
Israeli basketball star Oded Katash is trying to become the first. Last summer at the European Championships, Katash's 22 points per game for the Israeli National Team was the best average among all tournament scorers and was one of the 20 top players picked for the first-ever European All-Star game. There is also a money issue. If Katash makes the team, he'll have to accept a salary that would reportedly be in the $400,000 range - considerably less than what he makes playing basketball in Israel.
The last Israeli player with serious hopes to make the NBA was Doron Sheffer, who starred for the University of Connecticut from 1993 to 1996. He was selected in the second round of the 1996 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, but decided to return home after not being offered a guaranteed contract. Three other Israeli players in the past have attended summer free-agent camps with respective NBA clubs. Amit Tamira, a 6-foot, 10-inch recent graduate from the University of California at Berkeley, and Elad Inbar, a 26-year-old forward, at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, are also NBA prospects. Israeli basketball legend Mickey Berkowitz had offers from the Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets in the early 1980s, but a contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv stood in the way. These four players all played on the Israeli national team which beat Russia to win the European championships two years ago.
The score was tied at the end of the first quarter before Matthew’s team pulled away and took a comfortable ten point lead into the halftime break. It was good basketball and the crowd cheered both teams. The same crowd erupted spontaneously when the Israeli team came out on the floor to start the second half, including two new players in the starting line-up; two women whose homes are only about 10 miles away from each other along the Mediterranean Sea are changing the way Israelis look at basketball; Shay Doron, a junior at Maryland and an All-American candidate and Liad Suez-Karni, a senior All-Big East selection at Villanova.
Suez-Karni, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, started playing basketball in Israel the same way many American girls learned the ropes - she just tagged along when her big brother went to the court. The most popular woman player is point guard, Shay Doran who is almost a rock star. Maryland women basketball games are televised back to the small nation and eight million people follow her every move.
The girls were no slouches on the court and the crowd went wild as Doran stole the ball from Matthew and went in for a layup to give the Israelis their first lead. The lead went back and forth until Matthew’s jump shot put his team ahead by two points with only 12 seconds remaining. The Israeli team called time out to set up the final shot.
The ball was inbound to Oded Katash who had 24 points on 10 for 12 shooting and was the team’s go-to man. Katash drove off a screen and headed to the basket where Matthew was waiting to block his shot attempt, but the shot never came. At the last moment Katash passed out to Doran who had set up at the top of the circle, just outside the men’s three point line. The ball was in the air when the final buzzer went off and fifteen thousand people screamed for the ball to be good. The cheers changed to groans as the ball bounced hard off the back rim, but changed again to a thunderous roar as miraculously, the ball reached its pinnacle and slowly dropped down through the center of the net. I was too emotionally drained to follow the crowd as they stormed the court to celebrate.
It took twenty minutes to restore order and get the fans back to their seats. Matthew congratulated the Israeli team and awarded the game’s MVP trophy to Shay Doran, much to the delight of the crowd. “This proves once again, that women can compete with men and deserve the right to be treated as equals.” The crowd was momentarily silent as they glanced over at the president’s box, waiting for a reaction to this obvious criticism of Muslim traditions, before erupting in applause. Matthew waited stoically for the noise to abate before continuing, and when he did, Matthew got right to the point.
“The Jewish people are being oppressed once again, but I promise you that this will not last.” Pointing directly at Ahmadinejad in the presidential box, he said the words that rocked the world; “the end is coming and your time is almost over. God will not allow false idols in the house of Yahweh.”
The crowd gasped as the words sunk in before erupting again with a standing ovation. I watched Ahmadinejad’s face turn blood red as he stood and pointed at Matthew. I couldn’t hear his words over the noise of the crowd, but the meaning became clear as armed guards marched to the podium to arrest Matthew. The crowd booed as Matthew was forcibly escorted away. Scores of Jews piled onto the basketball floor and the heavily armed guards were moments away from firing on the unruly mob. We were moments away from an awful slaughter when Matthew held his arms above his head for silence. “Have faith, my children, and trust in the Lord. Yahweh will protect me.”
I called Rosann a half-hour later, but she had already heard. The game had been televised nationally and all major networks were provided footage of the arrest.
“What happened, Jim; it was like he wanted to be arrested.”
“I’m not sure, but I hope he isn’t trying to be a martyr.”
“Get out of there, Jim, there is nothing you can do that isn’t being done. The network says that the President has already called demanding his release, as have presidents from almost every Western country.”
“I know, Rosann, but I have to try. I’ll call you in the morning.”
I was at the Temple Mount with thousands of other protestors, when, surprisingly, Matthew was released just before noon. Matthew calmly walked down the steps as his supporters roared their approval. He smiled when he saw me.
“Hi Jim, what are you doing here?”
“I was bringing you a toothbrush and pajamas; figured you would be here for a while. How did you break out?”
“I’m not sure why they released me, but I’m glad they did. It wasn’t comfortable in there.”
“Did you meet with Ahmadinejad?”
“Oh yes, and I can assure you it wasn’t his idea to set me free. I think he mentioned something to the effect of rotting in hell.”
“I’m confused. He’s the top guy, isn’t he?”
“Apparently not, or at least not in this instance. I think it had something to do with not wanting to cancel next week’s basketball game. They want to see my butt kicked by that Muslim kid everyone is talking about.”
“Why did you get yourself arrested in the first place? Were you trying to draw attention to the Israeli plight?”
“Yes, but I was also passing on a message. His days are numbered.”
“Do you know something? What’s going to happen?”
“All in good time, Coach.”
I wasn’t going to get any more out of him so I decided to pass on the good news. “By the way, did you know that Lake Tana only dropped 13 feet when we released the water to Somalia? Everything looks good.”
“That’s great. Father McGinnis called me yesterday and told me the Somalians are pleased. Your team did a great job. Please congratulate them for me.”
“Thanks, Matthew, I’ll pass that on. Is there anything you need from me before I head back to Ethiopia?”
“No, I’m heading back to the United States for the game against the Turkish team.”
“Good luck! The Muslim kid is pretty go
od.”
“Good luck to you, Jim. What you are doing in Ethiopia is more important than any basketball game.”
At the time I thought that Matthew was referring to our efforts to get water to the Somalians, but I would soon learn that Matthew was a step ahead of me again.
Amar watched the events in the basketball game unfurl and shouted in anger as Matthew was led away. He knew it was time to act. The following morning he flew from Istanbul to Jerusalem to meet with Ahmadinejad. Matthew Wilson was freed from prison an hour later.
Matthew Wilson’s release had little to do with basketball.
EPILOGUE - A NEW BEGINNING