The whole damn point of putting names on the jerseys is so that the audience knows who is who without needing to memorize everybody's number. Hell, most high schools and college teams didn't even have names on jerseys until recently because it was a frivolous expense.
The only reason this will "work" for him is because he's the only asshole doing it. If enough others did, nobody would be able to distinguish them any more because NOBODY HERE READS YOUR DESERT SHITHOLE ALPHABET.
Proudly honoring his heritage, the Western Michigan defensive tackle is believed to have made history late last month –– becoming the first NCAA student-athlete to display his family name in Arabic on his jersey in the Broncos’ season opening loss to Michigan State on Aug. 29.
After a year away from football, and a new change of scenery, Al-Garawi felt moved to display his surname –– Achome –– for the first and final time in his college football career this summer. Western Michigan officials fully supported his decision, allowing for a Kalamazoo seamstress to work up the stitching on his jersey.
In a sport where names and numbers define players, Al-Garawi’s choice is a historic statement, one that he hopes can not only change the perception of his culture but also be a beacon of representation for his country.
“Family has been everything to me,” said Al-Garawi, 22. “I’m a proud Iraqi American and a proud Muslim.”
Hyphenated “Americans” are a plague on society. They will always have loyalty to their home country even if they weren’t born there.
Al-Garawi was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and moved to Tennessee as a young child. He’d grow up in Pigeon Forge, where he quickly became a standout in wrestling and football.
“Just as American as apple pie!”
Rashid Al-Garawi, a native of Iraq, was a rebel against his own country under Saddam Hussein’s rule and helped American forces in the buildup to the Second Gulf War in the early 2000s. Rashid fled his own country and spent six years in Saudi Arabi with other rebels before the United Nations granted him citizenship to America.
Why wouldn’t he want to stay in Saudi Arabia? Odd how we imported so many military aged men.
After growing up in an Iraqi Muslim household, Mustafi said it was a shock to attend school in Pigeon Forge.
“You’re thrown into a whole new culture and it was very challenging,” he said. “But I embraced it and I was really lucky to have a support staff with my family, cousins and other Iraqi members that were in my school that made the transition easy for me. But when I got into middle and high school, that’s when I really started to develop an understanding of who I am.”
Wow that “assimilation” is working wonders!
“There’s been a bunch of Middle Eastern people that have followed me and asked me if I could get a jersey,” he said. “Where I’m from, some people are scared and embarrassed to represent the heritage because they get bullied for it and hear things on the media that stray them away from who they really are. They’re afraid to speak the way we speak or eat the food we eat. God wants you to not fear judgement other than him and I’m just trying to be a good example and inspire people to be themselves.”
Yes, how dare we assume your ungrateful ass assimilate instead of demanding everyone accept you shit culture.
Meanwhile the Saudi Arabian national football team puts their name and numbers on their jerseys in the Roman alphabet like everyone else.
The whole damn point of putting names on the jerseys is so that the audience knows who is who without needing to memorize everybody's number. Hell, most high schools and college teams didn't even have names on jerseys until recently because it was a frivolous expense.
The only reason this will "work" for him is because he's the only asshole doing it. If enough others did, nobody would be able to distinguish them any more because NOBODY HERE READS YOUR DESERT SHITHOLE ALPHABET.
The problem is that is no longer true.
They can't read their own desert shithole alphabet either.
If they're playing football, Republicans are even less likely to deport them now. Abdul's gotta get them parlays.
He’s at a school where the average grunt marine could walk on and take his spot, which makes the pandering to him all the more pathetic.
Yep. It's one of those "Holy shit! They lost by that much! Oh wait. That's Western Michigan" schools I used to see on the ticker.
Hyphenated “Americans” are a plague on society. They will always have loyalty to their home country even if they weren’t born there.
“Just as American as apple pie!”
Why wouldn’t he want to stay in Saudi Arabia? Odd how we imported so many military aged men.
Wow that “assimilation” is working wonders!
Yes, how dare we assume your ungrateful ass assimilate instead of demanding everyone accept you shit culture.