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Inside of Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar someone handed Fadi Assaf a protest shirt. So, for a moment, he took his basketball jersey off.
That is how this image, one of Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant being represented at the France vs. Tunisia game, was created.
“I took my jersey off and said, ‘It belongs right here,’” Assaf said. “There was no one in front of us, so it was the perfect place to put a jersey down.
“I put it right next to the flag of Tunisia and the flag of Palestine. Then I felt the urge to take a picture. But, the short answer is I took the jersey off because it was getting hot.”
 “I took my jersey off and said, ‘It belongs right here,’” Fadi Assaf said. “There was no one in front of us, so it was the perfect place to put a jersey down.” (Courtesy Fadi Assaf)
Assaf, who grew up in Memphis and attended Memphis University School, has since moved to Seattle to work as an attorney. But his hometown roots have not left him, particularly his love for the Memphis Grizzlies.
GRIZZLIES NEXT GAME
Teams: 76ers at Grizzlies
Time: 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 2
Place: FedExForum, Memphis
TV: Bally Sports South
Radio: 92.9 FM
His father, who still lives in Memphis, is a Grizzlies season ticket holder and attends almost every game. Together, they both attended the Grizzlies’ home victory over the Pelicans last Friday.
The next day, they left for Qatar. That was something his father had wished to do since his son went to the event in South Africa in 2010.
“My dad grew up in Palestine, and football is a big sport in the Middle East,” Assaf said. “He has always wanted to experience it. So I said, ‘You know what, four years from now it will be in the U.S., but let’s go somewhere we can experience a classic World Cup, where all of the people are essentially located in one city.’”
They squeezed eight days into their busy schedules to make it work.
“It has been awesome,” he said. “Everywhere we walk you have Saudis heckling Argentinians. You can’t walk anywhere without Saudis making fun of them for losing that first game.”
Assaf and his father, Mohammad Assaf, are attending every Brazil match during the group stage and have picked a few other matches to go to as well. Once all the soccer has wrapped up for the day, they stay up to watch the Grizzlies on a cell phone.
Yes, those Grizzlies, whose games start at 4 a.m. AST in Doha, Qatar. They promise it’s not as crazy as you would think.
“Honestly, there’s a lot of lights here,” Fadi Assaf said. “There’s a lot of light pollution and everything is an eye magnet, so it’s pretty easy at the World Cup to stay up as late as possible and enjoy it.
“And, these games here are late. Today’s games just ended and it’s after midnight. On Sunday, we went to the Spain-Germany game and that was an hour away at the furthest stadium. By the time we got back, it was like 2:30 a.m. We went to a shawarma shop, got some food, then went back to the hotel and watched the Grizzlies-Knicks game.
“There’s enough excitement to keep you up, that’s not a problem. Then in the morning you just kind of wake up and dread the heat.”
Assaf said he’s also received a few comments on his Morant jersey while walking around the World Cup venues. A Lakers fan from Los Angeles at the World Cup told him he believes Morant is one of the easiest players to cheer for, and a few Canadian fans stopped him to chat about the Raptors.
He’s happy to talk hoops – or soccer.
“We are big fans,” Assaf said. “I don’t think we miss a Grizzlies game.”
Even if it comes at a little bit of a price.
“Honestly, when I get back, I’m probably going to sleep for a good 16 hours,” he said.
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