French basketball star in doubt for London Olympics

PARIS (AFP) –

French basketball star Tony Parker, seen here on June 15, could miss next month’s London Olympics due to the eye injury he sustained in a bizarre nightclub brawl in New York

French basketball star Tony Parker could miss next month’s London Olympics due to the eye injury he sustained in a bizarre nightclub brawl in New York, he said on his website.

Parker, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA, sustained the injury when he got caught in the cross-fire of a bottle-throwing brawl between friends of R&B singer Chris Brown and rapper Drake.

He received glass fragments in his eye and later spoke about his fears of losing the sight in the eye alltogether,

He has subsequently sued the owners of the W.i.P. (Work in Progress) club in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan for £20million dollars, holding them responsible for the injury by allowing the two groups to be in the club at the same time knowing there was a history of bad blood between the two.

Parker was due to meet up with the highly-regarded French basketball team on Sunday, but will return to the United States on July 5 to seek the help of an eye specialist and talk with San Antonio officials.

“I will be seeing a specialist in New York and hope to get clearance to take part in the Olympic Games,” he said.

“The Spurs are very worried. Depending on the results, anything could happen including my withdrawl from the Games,

“The final decision is not mine to take. It’s up to the doctor and San Antonio.”

Parker’s absence would be a huge blow to the French team as he is their star player and biggest name.