Cal-Berkeley college basketball center Fardaws Aimaq stormed into the stands to accost a fan over alleged racism on Monday night. Video of the incident emerged later in the week and has since gone viral.
Cal lost to UTEP 75-72 in semifinal of the SoCal Challenge — Surf Division. Aimaq went into the crowd after the final buzzer.
According to his agent, Daniel Poneman, the fan stayed after the game and continued to chirp at Fardaws Aimaq before he met with his family.
The sixth-year senior, who began his career at Mercer, played three years at Utah Valley, and one season at Texas Tech, transferred to Cal during the offseason. He is from Canada, where his parents settled after fleeing the Soviet-Afghan War.
According to the university, Aimaq has since discussed his behavior with his head coach. Mark Madsen talked to him about maintaining composure in every situation, no matter what is going on around him.
With that being said, Madsen was “disturbed” by what happened. He, Aimaq and the university allege that the fan called Aimaq a “terrorist” among other derogatory language. They seek answers.
Througout and after Monday’s game, Fardaws Aimaq was allegedly subjected to abhorrent and offensive comments from a fan – including being called a terrorist. I have asked the SoCal Challenge tournament director that a formal investigation be conducted and that this fan be barred from the premises.
Fardaws and I had an important conversation today about how he needs to maintain his composure regardless of what takes place in a game or what is said to him directly. I am disturbed that Fardaws was allegedly on the receiving end of such language, and I’m disappointed that he confronted this fan in the stands. Fardaws understands my expectations for how he as a student-athlete conducts himself. The consequences related to this situation will be managed internally.
— Mark Madsen
It is unclear as to what the internal discipline may entail. Aimaq was on the court for Wednesday night’s third-place game and recorded a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
The Cal Golden Bears will host San Diego State at home on Saturday. Madsen has not indicated whether or not his star center is going to face any kind of suspension. Based on his status for the first college basketball game after the incident, that does not seem to be the case.
In the meantime, it is on the SoCal Challenge to determine whether Aimaq’s claims are true. For him to react in such a manner, while inappropriate, is completely warranted if the fan was saying the things that have been alleged!