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Kwame James subdued British shoe bomber
In Response To: Kwame James on CNN *LINK* ()

After subduing British shoe bomber...
US blanks TT basketball hero

By FRANCIS JOSEPH, Newsday TT

KWAME JAMES, the Trinidadian basketballer who foiled the British shoe bomber’s plans to blow up an American Airlines flight in 2001, has been blanked from seeking a professional career in the United States.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in the United States has refused to give him an extension to his six-month pass to stay a longer time in the US seeking his dream to play in the NBA.

James’s plight has been featured in the media in the US — in the newspapers and only yesterday, on CNN television.

James, 24, assisted the crew in subduing Richard Reid aboard AA flight 63 from Paris to Miami.

James was en route to Trinidad on December 22, 2001 to spend Christmas with his family.

Reid pleaded guilty to the charge of attempting to blow up the aircraft and was on January 30 sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Trinidadian basketballer, who stands at six feet eight inches tall, was presented with a national award by President Arthur NR Robinson at the 2002 Independence Day Awards ceremony.

James, a Canadian citizen, wants to remain south of the US border to train in an effort to attract a team in the NBA.

His six-month pass to stay in the US will expire soon. James said he had been told by INS representatives that there is no work permit available for athletes in training.

He could receive one however, if he lands a job related to his Evansville degree (international business).

James could gain citizenship by marrying his girlfriend, but says that is no way to get married.

He could take a job involving international business, but doesn’t want to betray any company he would leave for another crack at professional basketball.

“So it is really sad for me,” James told reporters. “I am in a financial bind. I need something to happen soon or I’ll probably leave the country. It is crunch time.”

It was crunch time on December 22, 2001 when James was a passenger on the AA flight. He was awakened by the sounds of mortal combat and naked fear.

A professional player in France, James was drafted into war against terror when Reid tried to light explosives in his shoes on the flight.

James was sitting some 10 rows ahead of Reid when he rose to find two men fighting for everyone’s lives.

“At first I just thought it was a scuffle, and I did not want to jump into something I did not know about.

“But when the flight attendant told me she needed my help, I could see in her eyes this was more than just a fight.”

James continued, “with one or two other guys I pushed Reid between the seats. He was struggling pretty good until he realised that there were four or five of us and he could not win.

“He kept saying things in Arabic we couldn’t understand. We tied him up with seat belts, headphone cords, whatever we could find.”

The TT player added, “I was the biggest person on the plane so the captain had me stand over him in the aisle.

“He was tied up head to toe and still he’s talking to me in this arrogant, chilling way. I told him I had a lot of Muslim friends and we all get along. I asked, ‘were you really going to blow up this plane?’ And he just said ‘you will see!”

James said the INS promised to give him a visa through Reid’s trial. But the Briton pleaded guilty.

The TT player then wrote to US Attorney John Ashcroft seeking his intervention “but some agency sent me asylum papers...but I have no reason to swear off another country.”

James started his basketball career at age 13 when an aunt living in Indiana invited him to leave Trinidad for a camp there.

“Suddenly, I am jumping over small town Indiana kids,” he added. James, who was recruited to Evansville, then took his game to pro teams in Argentina, France, Canada, and South Korea.

Reid was sentenced on eight charges: attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted homicide, placing an explosive device on an aircraft; attempted murder, two counts of interference with flight crew members and attendants, attempted destruction of aircraft, and using a destructive device during a crime of violence.

A ninth charge, attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle, a charge filed under the new USA Patriot Act, was dismissed last summer.

Messages In This Thread

Kwame James on CNN *LINK*
Kwame James subdued British shoe bomber
Trinidad and Tobago News

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