South Sudan coach, basketball federation president accuse refs of bias after Olympic loss to Serbia

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — South Sudan's coach and basketball federation president said referees were biased against their team after a 96-85 loss to Serbia on Saturday that ended an exciting run for the lone African team in the men’s basketball tournament at the Paris Olympics.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 28 points to help Serbia move into next week's quarterfinals.

South Sudan coach Royal Ivey pointed to a wide foul discrepancy as evidence of bias by game officials, and federation president Luol Deng and Deng said African referees should be part of major international tournaments.

“They shot 31 free throws, we shot six free throws?” Ivey said after the game. “Let’s tell the story. Let’s tell the real story, because that’s a travesty. How do they shoot 31 free throws and we shoot six free throws? How?”

Nikola Jokic added 22 points and 13 rebounds for Serbia, which finished second in Group C behind the United States. South Sudan’s loss means Greece gets the final wild card for the knockout round because it had a better point differential than South Sudan over three group-stage games.

“I was scared of South Sudan before the game. They had a great tournament,” Bogdanovic said. “Respect to them. We’ve known them since the World Cup. They really got better.”

Marial Shayok and Carlik Jones led South Sudan with 17 points each.

Ivey said referees complained about his players standing in the bench area and threatened him with ejection for being out of the coach's box, while tolerating similar behavior by Serbia's coach.

“My guys were out there giving their all, blood, sweat and tears and you tell me how we shot six free throws? We shot one free throw in the second half,” Ivey said.

Deng, who starred at Duke and played 16 seasons in the NBA, said he thought the discrepancy was "deliberate."

“I know Serbia is known for basketball, they've been great for many years," Deng said. “The way, the style the guards play, it's almost like the ref knows them. It's OK if the refs know certain players to let them play their style. As soon as our guys play their style, they're getting fouls every time.”

He questioned why there seems to be a narrative that African players are aggressive.

“I don't know why there's no African referees in the Olympics. It's 2024,” Deng said. “If we're representing the continent then we've got to be represented fully. That's something that we've to to keep working on. But if these referees aren't familiar with our game, with our style — then I don't know what the world championship or the Olympics is. Is it just a European basketball style and we're not allowed to be aggressive?”

South Sudan played like a team whose tournament was on the line. Players dove on the floor for loose balls and crowded around Jokic every time he got the ball deep.

There were also all-out effort plays, like Wenyen Gabriel sprinting for a chase-down block of Aleksa Avramovic during a fast-paced first quarter.

Serbia — ranked fourth in the world by FIBA — led 33rd-ranked South Sudan 47-44 at halftime.

Serbia led by five entering the fourth. And South Sudan kept coming. A steal by Peter Jok and an alley-oop to Gabriel got a roar from the crowd and shrank the margin to a basket.

Serbia just kept making shots, using a 19-3 spurt to take a 91-74 lead with less than three minutes left.

South Sudan has prepared for the Olympic spotlight since last September, when it finished the World Cup as Africa’s highest-ranked team, earning an automatic spot for the Paris Games.

But despite entering the Olympics with the lowest world ranking, it was clear just making it to France was never the goal for this team. It wanted to prove it belonged on the world stage alongside the greatest players in the sport, like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Jokic.

South Sudan got the Americans’ attention before the Games when it led the U.S. late during an Olympic exhibition matchup in London before ultimately falling by a point.

South Sudan then announced its arrival in its Olympic opener with a 90-79 victory over Puerto Rico. It turned a debut that began with organizers playing the wrong national anthem for South Sudan before the game into validation that it was ready to compete in one of the most talent-rich Olympic tournaments in history.

The U.S. imposed its will in its rematch with South Sudan, rolling to a 17-point win. Yet it was close enough to keep the first-timers in the hunt for a wild card.

It didn’t materialize and South Sudan's inspired inaugural run at the Olympics is over.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Serbia's Filip Petrusev watches a rebound during a men's basketball game against South Sudan at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (Sameer Al-Doumy/Pool Photo via AP)

Serbia's Aleksa Avramovic, left, shoots as South Sudan's Wenyen Gabriel defends at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (Sameer Al-Doumy/Pool Photo via AP)

South Sudan's Bul Kuol, second from left, shoots as Serbia's Nikola Milutinov, left, defends during a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, Pool)

Serbia's Aleksa Avramovic, center, jumps between South Sudan's Wenyen Gabriel, left, and South Sudan's Bul Kuol during a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Serbia's Aleksa Avramovic, left, drive spas South Sudan's Carlik Jones during a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Serbia's Aleksa Avramovic, second from right, shoots as South Sudan's Marial Shayok, left, South Sudan's Wenyen Gabriel, second from left, and South Sudan's Bul Kuol defend during a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Serbia's Nikola Jokic, center, shoots as South Sudan's Wenyen Gabriel, left, defends during a men's basketball game at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

South Sudan head coach Royal Ivey yells to his team during a men's basketball game against Serbia at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins was handcuffed and placed face down on a street outside the team's stadium after he was stopped for speeding and reckless driving Sunday morning before the Dolphins' first game of the season, an incident that left the star wide receiver baffled and resulted in a police officer being placed on administrative leave.

The officer, who was not identified, was one of at least three involved in detaining Hill. Some fans saw Hill being handcuffed and captured video on their way to the game, and it quickly went viral on social media.

Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie V. Daniels said she had launched an internal affairs investigation.

Told after the game that the officer was placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Hill said: “That should tell you everything you need to know.”

Added defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who was also briefly handcuffed after coming to his teammate’s aid: “That makes sense based on the situation.”

Hill, who said he respects police officers and wants to be one when he retires from football, said he “had no idea” why police placed him in handcuffs.

“I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way,” Hill said. “Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. Like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.”

Hill starred on the field for the Dolphins, catching seven passes for 130 yards — including an 80-yard touchdown that helped Miami rally for a 20-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill celebrated the score by mimicking being handcuffed.

Hill, who is Black, said he didn't want to use his celebrity to get out of the situation but wondered what would’ve happened if he weren’t an NFL star.

“I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do,” he said. “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done. I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that: ‘Just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen.’”

Daniels said in a statement earlier Sunday that she requested an “immediate review” of the details surrounding the incident, adding that the department would review available body camera footage.

In a later statement, Daniels said: “I'm committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers."

Hill said everything happened so fast it caught him off guard.

“I’m just glad that my teammates were there to support me in that situation because I felt alone,” Hill added.

Campbell said he was driving into Hard Rock Stadium when he saw Hill handcuffed, and he stopped to help. The 17-year NFL veteran ended up in handcuffs as well, saying officers told him it was because he disobeyed their direct orders.

“I’d seen, I feel like excessive force, so I get out of the car to kind of just try to de-escalate the situation,” Campbell said, also calling the incident “a bit extreme.”

Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023, said he spoke to his wife and family after he was detained and before the game kicked off.

His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, called it a “heartbreaking situation” on ESPN.

“How things escalated into the situation that they were in, in handcuffs and being held on the ground with police, is mindboggling to me,” Rosenhaus said. "I'm deeply concerned by that. Very troubled. We will be looking into it. We will be investigating this. We will look out for Tyreek, but I'm not going to make any allegations at this time. The most important thing is Tyreek is OK physically, mentally he was very distraught about what happened.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has been in contact with the Dolphins, but declined to comment further.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) grabs a pass for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) gestures during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Dolphins defeated the Jaguars 20-17. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill gestures after an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Dolphins defeated the Jaguars 20-17. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill speaks during an NFL football post game news conference, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. The Dolphins defeated the Jaguars 20-17. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Ronald Darby (25) defends Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) listens to agent Drew Rosenhous before NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) enters the field before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)