Bonzie Colson admitted getting out of his contract prematurely due to the safety situation in Israel. He praised Fenerbahce as a legendary club and expressed his excitement for the new chapter in his basketball career.
As a member of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Bonzie Colson had to overcome the challenges the club had to face after the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7th, 2023. The ongoing troubles were the main reason why he decided to leave the club before his contract expired.
"Me and my girlfriend [Termeh] were sleeping, and it woke us up. At 6:30 a.m., there were sirens, and we had to run to the safe room. My girlfriend was pregnant at the time, so there were a lot of emotions," Colson said in an interview with Laurie Los Lee from The Standard-Times.
Maccabi had to play their home games in the EuroLeague in Belgrade, Serbia. While the Israeli league was resumed in late December 2023 and Maccabi ultimately played local league games in the Menora Mivtachim Arena, the international matchups still had to be played abroad.
“My girlfriend wasn't with me [the whole time] in Tel Aviv. She was in Austria, holding it down, and I was doing what I had to do on the court," Colson said.
"I'm happy we got through that, and she was born healthy,” the player said about his newborn girl."I love being a dad. She comes first with everything now."
Colson had signed a contract extension with Maccabi in 2023 which was designed to last until the summer of 2025. However, Colson and Maccabi parted ways in June 2024 with a year left in the deal.
The 28-year-old forward admits - the decision was made purely due to safety concerns.
"I got out of my contract, which was an up-and-down process because of the war situation," he said. "I didn't want my family to be in Israel while there was a war going on."
Colson went on to sign with Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in Turkiye. His teammate at Maccabi, Wade Baldwin IV, joined him at the new club as well.
"It's another legendary club in Europe for basketball and football," Colson said. "It's a great situation to have a really good coach and a really good culture and a fun atmosphere."
“I'm excited about it. They've built a really good team with good character guys, but also guys who can play," the player concluded.
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