LEBANESE HOOPS CRASHES
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Basketball player Charles Tabet was once a national hero blocking shots for Lebanon, but a crumbling economy has forced him into a new life selling cars in Michigan.
After a decade playing in his country of origin, the 33-year-old Lebanese-American last month returned to his native United States to start a new career.
“I sold my first vehicle today,” the 6-foot-9 player wrote on social media, posting a snapshot of himself, eyes smiling above a mask, next to a much shorter woman and her new white SUV.
Basketball was once the sporting pride of Lebanon, with the national team qualifying for several world cups and two clubs that were dominant forces in the Middle East and Asia two decades ago.
In i t s h eyday, basketball could draw huge crowds and TV audiences in Lebanon, whose football team never made it past the Asian Cup group stages in two participations, let alone qualify for the World Cup.
But with the economy in free fall, the tiny nation is now losing some of its best basketball players, who are emigrating or swapping their jerseys for business shirts.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to retire,” Tabet told AFP.
“I’ve played 10 years in Lebanon. I’ve made some great friends who I call family.”
But “playing basketball was how I supported myself and my family. With the economic crisis, it’s better for me to start my career in the States.”
Over the past year, players have seen the Lebanese basketball league suspended, its dollar savings trapped in the bank and buying power plummet amid the country’s worst financial crunch in decades.
“It’s sad and not the way I wanted to retire, but I’m excited for my next chapter in life,”
I sold my first vehicle today.
Tabet said.
Basketball fast gained popularity in Lebanon after the end of the civil war in the 1990s with Lebanese clubs Sagesse and Al-Riyadi racking up big wins on the regional stage.
Interest in the sport further flourished as the national team made it to the World Cup in 2002, 2006 and 2010, the second time winning a game against former colonial power France.
During this golden era, Lebanese basketball attracted players from as far as the US.
Some of the league’s “stars” could earn up to $250,000 per season, according to press reports.
But over the past year the economy has deteriorated — sparking mass protests from last autumn — and the novel coronavirus pandemic has brought the country to a standstill.