Cal releases statement on Fardaws Aimaq incident, claims player was called terrorist by fan

Cal basketball issued a statement on Wednesday evening after Fardaws Aimaq was called offensive names by a fan in Monday’s game against the UTEP Miners. After the game, Aimaq was not happy and decided to go up into the stands to speak with the fan and even confronted them. Aimaq put his finger in the fan’s face and said some choice words that can’t be repeated. On Wednesday evening, Cal basketball issued a statement on the matter.

Here is the statement.

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— Cal Basketball (@CalMBBall) November 23, 2023

“Throughout and after Monday’s game, Fardaws Aimaq was allegedly subjected to abhorrent and offensive comments from a fan–including being called a terrorist. I have asked the SoCal Challenge tournament director that a formal investigation be conducted and that this fan be barred from the premises.”

“Fardaws and I had an important conversation today about how he needs to maintain his composure regardless of what takes place in a game or what is said to him directly. I am disturbed that Fardaws was allegedly on the receiving end of such language, and I’m disappointed that he confronted this fan in the stands. Fardaws understands my expectations for how he as a student-athlete conducts himself. The consequences related to this situation will be managed internally,” Mark Madsen said in the statement.

The statement above was e-mailed to SFGate after they requested a comment on the incident.

Aimaq went into the stands after the game, even getting into a face-to-face confrontation with the fan. He took his finger and directly pointed it in the fan’s face, saying, ‘You want to talk some s—t? I’ll slap the f— out of you, b–h.” You can watch video of the incident here.

Aimaq’s parents are from Afghanistan but decided to leave the country during their war with the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. The Aimaqs eventually bounced around to Germany and Toronto, before finally settling down in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Fardaws was born.

The Golden Bears are Aimaq’s fourth different college basketball team in the past five years. For his career, he’s averaged 12.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. This year for Cal, he’s averaging 16.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.

He earned WAC Player of the Year honors in 2020-2021 and was also named the WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2020 and 2021. In the WAC, he played for the Utah Valley Wolverines.