(JTA) — Amar’e Stoudemire asked fans on Twitter if he should play in Israel during the NBA lockout, then tweeted that he would stay in the United States.
"Should I go to Israel and play for Maccabi Tel Aviv during the lockout?" Stoudemire, an all-star forward for the New York Knicks, tweeted July 8.
He included the championship-winning Israeli basketball team’s Twitter name at the end of the tweet and a Knicks hashtag.
On Monday, however, he tweeted that "Europe teams are calling, I think I am going 2 stay here in the states. My loyalty is with the State of New York an the NYK’s. Who’s with me?"
Deron Williams, a star guard for the New Jersey Nets, has announced that he has agreed to play in Turkey if the NBA lockout continues.
Stoudemire visited Israel last summer on a spiritual journey after learning of some Jewish ancestry. He said at the time that he was Jewish "spiritually and culturally," and that he was keeping kosher.
Stoudemire’s agent, Happy Walters, told the New York Post last week that the player was not considering playing overseas.
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