SACRAMENTO – The hearts and minds of a pair of Kings’ big men were a long way off from ARCO Arena last night when the Kings played the Knicks.
With NATO unleashing punishing air strikes on Yugoslavia yesterday, center Vlade Divac and rookie forward Predrag Stojakovic were deeply distressed by the bombing.
For Divac, a Serb, it was a much more serious situation because his brother and parents are in Yugoslavia.
“It’s very difficult,” admitted Divac, who was born in Prijepolje, Yugoslavia and has a foundation to help all children (Serbs, Croatians and Bosnians) affected by the war in his homeland. “I’m shaking. I can’t believe it. I couldn’t get through to my parents today. I called my brother and could hear bombs … I was on the phone yesterday for 24 hours with my parents, my brother, trying to figure out what’s happening. It’s a terrible feeling really. I couldn’t sleep thinking about when the bombing starts.
“The politicians from there, from here, should be blamed for everything. The politicians, they have people’s lives in their hands.”
Stojakovic, also a Serb, was born in Belgrade, which was bombed yesterday. “Even though I’m not there, emotionally, I really feel for those people,” he said.
His father left the country just two days ago and is now in Greece, where Stojakovic maintains citizenship. “I just hope there can be peace. The situation is bad for everybody. It is very difficult. I just want peace. There has been war since 1991.”
Stojakovic said he has had friends and relatives injured and killed over the years. “You think about your country and your people,” he said, adding these chilling words. “You just want peace. I know what war means.”