East Lansing — A new war in the Middle East is bringing plenty of uncertainty to the region. That has plenty of civilians caught in the middle of the turmoil, including some Michigan State alumni.
Two former Spartans, Malik Hall and Cassius Winston, are playing in the Israeli Basketball Premier League this season. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said assistant coach Thomas Kelley had gotten in contact with them, and he himself plans to make contact Tuesday.
“It’s hard to say where everybody is as far as what is going on,” Izzo said. “But it’s not hard to say that my first thing to them is going to be: You can make money the rest of your life; you better make sure you have it.”
On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel struck Iran with a bombardment that struck critical infrastructure and killed the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Retaliatory strikes by Iran have hit Israel, and on Monday the State Department ordered Americans to depart a number of countries in the region including Israel, or otherwise shelter in place.
Izzo’s comments come after South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley announced Saturday she was working to bring three of her former players home from “a war zone” in Israel.
“I commend Dawn Staley for that, too,” Izzo said. “She’s got more than a few people over there, and I think all coaches or people over there would feel the same way. It’s just their decision at the end. You know, I don’t know how far away they are, how close they are. That I don’t know, but I will know at the end of today or tomorrow for sure.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan State pros in Israel caught in chaos of Middle East conflict
Reporting by Connor Earegood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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