I do know it was a foul loss however deporting them appears a bit harsh…
The Duke Blue Devils delivered one of many all-time embarrassing meltdowns final night time throughout their recreation towards Houston within the Last 4 of the NCAA match.
With 8 minutes left within the recreation, Duke was up by 14 and gave the impression to be nicely on their option to a spot towards Florida within the nationwide championship recreation. However their capturing went ice chilly and Houston mounted a livid rally, regardless of being down by 6 with 30 seconds left within the recreation, to drag off the comeback and take down the Blue Devils 70-67.
However to make issues worse, now they’re at risk of dropping one among their star gamers – to not the NBA or the switch portal, however to deportation.
On Saturday, simply hours earlier than tipoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced that america can be revoking all visas of South Sudanese passport holders:
“I’m taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and to limit any additional issuance to forestall entry into america, efficient instantly, as a result of failure of South Sudan’s transitional authorities to just accept the return of its repatriated residents in a well timed method.”
That features Duke middle Khaman Maluach, a 7’2″ native of South Sudan who averaged 21 minutes, 8.6 factors and 6.6 rebounds per recreation throughout his freshman yr with the Blue Devils.
A Duke College spokesman stated the varsity is “trying into the scenario and dealing expeditiously to grasp the implications for Duke college students,” but when Rubio does in reality revoke all visas of these from South Sudan, it seems to be like Duke may find yourself having to search for a brand new middle subsequent yr.
After the embarrassing loss final night time, many basketball followers took to Twitter to share a meme from the favored HBO sequence White Lotus that seemingly predicted the heartbreaking exit for the Blue Devils:
Duke blew a 7 level lead with 1:26 left. Thanks White Lotus for an all time meme #finalfour2025 pic.twitter.com/zsuq4IUTiI
— Your Greatest Pal’s Black Pal (@IAmStatMatt) April 6, 2025
However because it seems, Duke wasn’t precisely completely satisfied about their merch getting used within the scene.
This season, the present is ready on the White Lotus resort in Thailand, and one of many essential storylines entails the Ratliff household from North Carolina who’re visiting the resort in order that their daughter Piper can analysis Buddhist monks. The daddy Timothy Ratliff, performed by Jason Isaacs, is a rich monetary man and graduate of Duke College, and his son Saxon (performed by Patrick Schwarzenegger) additionally went to Duke and works for his father’s firm.
The Duke connection is talked about a number of occasions within the storyline as Timothy’s spouse Victoria reveals that she went to UNC, the place Piper is at present learning. And their youngest son Lochlan has been accepted to each faculties, so he has a giant resolution to make in his future.
The traditional home divided.
Anyway, early on within the season Timothy receives a name from a journalist asking a couple of cash laundering scandal at his firm involving a former enterprise associate. Dealing with potential federal expenses for his personal involvement, Timothy finally steals a gun from the resort’s safety guard and at one level is seen holding it to his head, ready to commit suicide – whereas sporting a Duke shirt.
And there’s additionally one other (much less graphic) picture of Ratliff staring out of a window in his Duke shirt that additionally presents a reasonably good alternative for some memes poking enjoyable on the Blue Devils:
hey babe, new Duke meme simply dropped pic.twitter.com/msHSxvPZnk
— Boastful Nation✌🏻 (@FightOnRusty) March 24, 2025
However unsurprisingly, Duke wasn’t completely satisfied in regards to the picture making its rounds on social media.
The college issued a press release after the episode aired, clarifying that they didn’t approve using their merch in White Lotus and criticizing the present’s scene as going “manner too far.”
“The White Lotus not solely makes use of our model with out permission, however in our view makes use of it on imagery that’s troubling, doesn’t mirror our values or who we’re, and easily goes too far.
Suicide is the second-leading explanation for loss of life on school campuses. As imagery from the present is being shared extensively throughout social media, we’re utilizing our model to advertise psychological well being consciousness and remind those who assist is accessible.
Duke appreciates inventive expression and inventive storytelling, however characters prominently sporting attire bearing Duke’s federally registered logos creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation the place none exists.”
Most likely no shock that they’re not completely satisfied about their shirt being utilized in that scene…
