"Will the U.S. welcome World Cup, Olympic visitors? You can tell, in most households, when company is expected. The carpet gets vacuumed; the best China is taken out of storage and kids are told to be on their best behavior.
But, as we’ve seen over some of the past eight years or so, the attitude of the United States’ government towards some of those who might visit our fair shores has been indifferent at best, and flat out hostile in other cases.
The latest group to catch America’s backhand is the Senegalese women’s basketball team, which was scheduled to visit the U.S. to train for 10 days through July 3 to prepare for the upcoming AfroBasket tournament next month.
Instead, visas for five players, six staff members and a ministerial delegation were rejected by the U.S. government.
In response, Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko cancelled the visit and the team will, instead, train at home in Dakar, the capital of the West African nation.
The U.S. State Department declined to tell either the Associated Press or the Athletic why the visas were vetoed, citing American law that makes visa records confidential.
The denial of the Senegalese visas and the subsequent decision to keep the team home comes framed against a Trump administration ban against citizens from 12 countries and restrictions against seven others.
While Senegal was not on that original list, the Washington Post has reported that the administration is considering adding 36 more countries to that list, including Senegal.
Indeed, the majority of nations on that list are located in Africa.
In addition, the administration has carried out public raids and seizures of people – some of them American citizens – in this country.
All of this comes on the eve of next year’s World Cup, the predominant soccer tournament.
The United States, as well as Canada and Mexico, is slated to host matches in 2026 involving 48 countries from around the globe, with the championship contest to take place in New York just over a year from now.
And in three years, the U.S. will play host to the biggest sports party of them all, the Summer Olympics.
If last year’s Paris Games are any indicators, Americans can expect more than 11,000 athletes and thousands more spectators from over 200 countries to show up in Los Angeles and environs to take part in and watch the competition.
Will those visitors be welcomed and given the red carpet/white glove treatment typically afforded to company?
Better yet, based on current administration policy, will those people even be allowed in this country, much less treated well?
Supposedly, the Trump travel ban includes exemptions for the World Cup, the Olympics and for any other quote major sporting event unquote.
After what we’ve seen and heard in this country since January 20, if you were a member of the Senegalese women’s basketball team or the Iranian soccer club, would you feel welcome here?
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.
