Ukraine flag was worn by a US college basketball team to show solidarity with one player's homeland
- Fordham's men's basketball team sported Ukraine's flag on its jerseys on Monday.
- The Rams wore the blue-and-yellow flag to show support for Ukrainian player Rostyslav Novitskyi.
Fordham's men's basketball program isn't shying away from showing support for Ukraine — or their Ukrainian teammate — as the nation's war with Russia draws on.
The team held a moment of silence for the people of Ukraine ahead of its matchup against UMass Monday night, and players wore Ukraine's flag stitched into their jerseys. A large blue-and-yellow flag was also prominently displayed above the Rams' bench.
It was all a show of solidarity with their teammate whose homeland has come under threat.
Fordham center Rostyslav Novitskyi — a Kyiv, Ukraine native — has played the last few games of his sophomore season as Russian forces invaded his home country thousands of miles away. And as Russian President Vladimir Putin continued his push to take control of Ukraine's capital city — which doubles as Novitskyi's hometown — on Monday, the 6-foot-10 big man took the floor with his teammates for a chance to even their record at .500.
It wound up being his best game of the season.
Novitskyi, who averaged 1.2 points per game ahead of Monday night's contest, dropped a season-high 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the floor in the Rams' 85-73 victory. He added a block and two rebounds in 13 minutes on the floor — good enough to earn Player of the Game honors.
Even with Novitskyi's standout performance and the program's efforts to show support, Fordham head coach Kyle Neptune is skeptical that "there's anything you can do or say to make it better."
"We just try to be there for him as much as possible," Neptune told A10 Talk's Samuel Basel. "But I don't think there could be any soothing words that would help him forget about what's going on."
Insider's live blog of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is covering developments as they happen.