Two American basketball players stranded after Iran retaliates against Trump ban

Joseph Jones and J.P. Prince are unable to rejoin their teammates in Iran.

Two American basketball players are unable to rejoin their team in Iran due to the country’s response to Donald Trump’s immigration ban, their agent told The Vertical’s Chris Mannix.

Trump signed an executive order Friday barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Iran is among countries on the list and responded by banning American citizens from entering Iran.  

The players, Joseph Jones and J.P. Prince, play for Azad University Tehran and were on a team-funded vacation in Dubai when Trump signed the order, according to Mannix. 

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“At the moment they are stranded,” their agent, Eric Fleisher told The Vertical. “It’s a real hardship.” They would lose more than $100,000 if they are unable to play the rest of the season. 

Jones, 30, played collegiately at Texas A&M, while the 29-year-old Prince played at Arizona and Tennessee. Both players are in their first season in Iran.