Olympics: Parker gets green light for London Games
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, right, of France, puts up a shot as Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin defends during the second half in Game 3 of an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, Saturday, May 19, 2012, in Los Angeles. The Spurs won 96-86. AP/Mark J. Terrill
PARIS – France star Tony Parker was on Friday cleared to take part in the London Olympics after suffering an eye injury in an altercation in a nightclub in New York last month.
The news that the San Antonio Spurs points guard has been given the green light is a boost for the team after the withdrawal of Bulls center Joakim Noah with a nagging ankle injury.
“I just arrived in Paris with good news. I’m going to the Olympics!!! I’m really happy I got the green light from Spurs!! Thank you Pop!! Now, towards London with beautiful protective glasses!” Parker wrote on his Twitter account.
Parker suffered a scratch to his cornea after being hit by a thrown glass bottle during a scuffle between singer Chris Brown and members of hip hop star Drake’s entourage.
The Spurs player sought the opinions of two expert ophthalmologists who agreed with the French doctor who operated on Parker and two Swiss experts that he had recovered enough to play.
The French Basketball Federation confirmed Parker’s participation and said he had received the backing of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the ‘Pop’ of his Twitter post, to take part.
France coach Vincent Collet told the federation website, ffbb.com: “This is excellent news and a relief for the entire France squad.
“I had Tony on the phone and I felt very happy and also relieved at this outcome.
“It was for us all, a very painful and agonizing situation. Now we can combine our forces and focus on our Olympic goal.”
It will be the first Olympics for the 30-year-old Parker who was due to join up with the rest of the squad in Orleans on Friday.
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