Instead of Receiving Treatment for an ACL Injury, This HBCU Basketball Player is in ICE Custody

Aminata Seck should be traveling with her teammates on the Kentucky State University basketball team. Instead, the college senior has spent weeks in immigration custody, separated from her team and dealing with an ACL injury that her attorney says requires surgery.

Seck, 26, is from Dakar, Senegal. According to USA TODAY, she was detained by ICE on Aug. 7 at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport while traveling with the Kentucky State women’s basketball team to New York.

She had reportedly cleared airport security when she was taken into custody.

More than six weeks later, Seck remains detained. Her attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds, told USA TODAY that Seck had been transferred between multiple detention facilities in Kentucky and Illinois. Reynolds said she had spoken with Seck several times by phone, while friends, family, teammates and coaches had not been able to see her.

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“I received a call from Aminita Seck on Tuesday. September 15. She was in a lot of pain,” Reynolds wrote on Instagram. “I planned to visit her on Wednesday. Before I could make it to the Clark County jail she had been transported to Clay county. The next day she says she was in Chicago. That night she was in Grayson County.”

Then there is the injury.

Reynolds said Seck was already dealing with an ACL injury when she was detained and was wearing a knee brace, according to PEOPLE. Seck has struggled to receive consistent medical care while in custody. Reynolds said Seck has received ibuprofen but needs surgery and further treatment. She hopes that the NCAA will step in.

“They could not tell me what time she left, they would not tell me where she was, they would not tell me when she would be back,” Reynolds told USA Today of the immigration officials now overseeing Seck’s detainment. “I think it’s very unfortunate. I’m hoping that the NCAA and others will get involved and make sure student-athletes are protected.”

The basketball player’s immigration case appears to stem from a paperwork issue, according to Reynolds. Her attorney said Seck’s student visa documentation may have fallen behind while she was dealing with medical problems and back surgery. Reynolds characterized the matter as an immigration issue rather than a criminal case.

For someone whose life had revolved around basketball and school, the sudden interruption has been profound.

Seck plays center for Kentucky State, a historically Black university. During the previous season, she averaged 11.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game and earned third-team honors in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. She also received the conference’s Elite 16 award for academic achievement.

Reynolds said Seck’s coach, Amani Williams, has continued to advocate for her.

“She has treated her like a mother would treat their child,” Reynolds told the Louisville Courier Journal about Williams’ relationship with the athlete. “I think we have to celebrate some of these heroes who have really been behind the scenes doing everything they could possibly do to keep people safe.”

For now, Seck’s season is on hold.

Her attorney says the immediate concern is making sure the student-athlete receives appropriate medical care while her immigration case moves through the system.