IOWA CITY — Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star Peter Jok, whose family came to the United States when he was three after his father was killed in a civil war in South Sudan, is speaking out against President Donald Trump’s recent executive order temporarily halting refugee resettlement on social media.
The high-profile hoop player (he currently leads the Big 10 in scoring at 21.0 ppg) posted the following Instagram post Sunday night:
Jok’s stance is informed by his family’s struggles and his brother Dau’s ongoing work with the Dut Jok Youth Foundation, which empowers South Sudanese youth through the vehicles of education, recreational sports and leadership building programming. The foundation is named after Peter and Dau’s father Dut, who served as s a Commander in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and whose death as a result of that war led to the Jok family’s move to America.
