Poor black boy denied the opportunity to play basketball.
It's such a pity that poor black people are being denied the opportunity to play basketball for foreign colleges they never went to.
my heart goes out to this young man deprived of his childhood dream.
Quote:
Hoop dreams: Robert Mugabe's son abandons basketball ambitions
Robert Mugabe's son has abandoned his dream of a basketball career because US sanctions mean he cannot play in America, his mother Grace said at the weekend.
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe Photo: Jekesai Njikizana/Getty Images
By Peta Thornycroft in Johannesburg 5:10PM GMT 09 Dec 2012
Mrs Mugabe, 47, told journalists at the annual Zanu PF conference in Zimbabwe that her son Robert, 19, was "very good" at basketball and longed for the chance to play in the "best league in the world," the NBA.
"We had to sit him down and explain that he cannot join a club playing in the US college league because of the sanctions. It hurt him because there was a lot of interest in him, but now he understands what it means to be the son of President Mugabe," she said.
None of Mr and Mrs Mugabe's three children are named on US and EU sanctions lists, and there is nothing therefore to stop Robert Jnr from travelling to the United States.
"Tino," as the young Mugabe is known among friends, attended the same rural Catholic mission school, Kutama, where his father was educated.
After poor 'O' levels at Kutama, he transferred to St John's School in the capital Harare, close to his parents' lavish home. There he failed all his 'A' levels but shone at sports, in particular basketball.
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State media have described Mr Mugabe Jnr as "the gangly first son" with a "rare" talent for basketball. His father, on the other hand, is a known cricket fan.
Middle child Robert Jnr was born shortly after Mr Mugabe's first wife Sally died of kidney disease 20 years ago.
During Sally's last years, Mr Mugabe chose Grace Marufu from the presidential typing pool as his mistress and had a daughter, Bona, now 23 and studying in Asia. They went on to marry after Sally Mugabe died.
Mr Mugabe, who will be 89 in February, told the Zanu PF conference he will lead his party to victory in elections next year.
