NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo was in the Brussels Airport during this morning’s terror attacks that killed dozens and injured hundreds more people.
During rush hour this morning, two bombs exploded at the Zaventem airport and another at the Maelbeek metro station near European Union buildings in the downtown area of Belgium’s capital city. As of this posting, 31 people have been confirmed dead and more than 200 injured in the blasts.
According to Belgian authorities, the Islamic terror group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came a week after Europe’s most-wanted man, Salah Abdeslam, was captured during a bloody raid in Brussels.
Caught in the middle of today’s violence was Mutombo, one of the world’s most notable humanitarians. Not long after word of the attacks spread across the globe, the former NBA star took to social media to assure family, followers and friends that he had not been harmed.
[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/dikembe.mutombo.12/posts/10153526191466464"]
Mutombo followed three hours later with this second reassuring post:
[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/dikembe.mutombo.12/posts/10153526444116464"]
Travel is a big part of Mutombo’s post-playing life. After appearing at a UNICEF event in Atlanta on Thursday, he flew home to the Democratic Republic of Congo to speak at a Saving Lives Through the Prevention and Treatment of Cervical Cancer Conference event, according to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation Facebook page.
During the 1990s, the 7-foot-2 Mutombo starred collegiately for the Georgetown Hoyas before being drafted fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1991 NBA Draft. In 18 seasons playing with the Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, he was an eight-time All-Star and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He led the league in blocked shots from 1994 to 1996 and rebounding in 2000 and 2001.
During rush hour this morning, two bombs exploded at the Zaventem airport and another at the Maelbeek metro station near European Union buildings in the downtown area of Belgium’s capital city. As of this posting, 31 people have been confirmed dead and more than 200 injured in the blasts.
According to Belgian authorities, the Islamic terror group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came a week after Europe’s most-wanted man, Salah Abdeslam, was captured during a bloody raid in Brussels.
Caught in the middle of today’s violence was Mutombo, one of the world’s most notable humanitarians. Not long after word of the attacks spread across the globe, the former NBA star took to social media to assure family, followers and friends that he had not been harmed.
[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/dikembe.mutombo.12/posts/10153526191466464"]
Mutombo followed three hours later with this second reassuring post:
[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/dikembe.mutombo.12/posts/10153526444116464"]
Travel is a big part of Mutombo’s post-playing life. After appearing at a UNICEF event in Atlanta on Thursday, he flew home to the Democratic Republic of Congo to speak at a Saving Lives Through the Prevention and Treatment of Cervical Cancer Conference event, according to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation Facebook page.
During the 1990s, the 7-foot-2 Mutombo starred collegiately for the Georgetown Hoyas before being drafted fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1991 NBA Draft. In 18 seasons playing with the Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, he was an eight-time All-Star and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He led the league in blocked shots from 1994 to 1996 and rebounding in 2000 and 2001.