TORONTO – Alexis Ajinca found out about what was happening in Paris on his way to work.
The New Orleans Pelicans centre from Saint-Ettienne, France, learned of the bombings and shootings that have claimed more than 100 lives while he was getting ready to play the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Friday.
He began reaching out to friends and family to find out if they were safe, but couldn’t get word before the ball went up. He wrote a simple message on his shoe – “PrayforParis” – and hoped for the best.
“All my family lives in Paris, I just found out everyone is OK right now,” he said moments after he scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench in the Raptors’ 100-81 win. “During this whole game I was trying to get this out of my mind so I could stay focused. It felt weird; I was thinking about it the whole game.
“It’s scary. I don’t know what the government has to do to make the government more safe,” he said. “But it’s a crazy world, you just never know. I hope it’s not going to happen more often and everyone is going to be safe.”
Alexis Ajinca (Tony Gutierrez/AP)
But even as he was expressing his relief that those close to him were safe, his thoughts were on those who weren’t as fortunate.
“Not everyone got lucky,” he said. “As far as I know all my friends and family are safe, but prayers go to the families that lost loved ones, it’s just unfair.”