Sanford, a guard from Lexington, Ky., who played for Dayton from 2012-14, told the Dayton Daily News on Monday afternoon he was at the airport in Israel and expected to fly to Greece in a few hours. This is Sanford’s first season in Israel. He plays for Hapoel Galil Elyon.
On Sunday night, Sanford explained his situation on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
“Y’all I’m in Israel,” he wrote. “For the moment, the north isn’t too bad. But it seems as if the conditions are getting worse. I’m just trying to get out of here and see my family like a lot of us are. As of now (I don’t know) how we will escape. Apparently, the airport is now being targeted.
“Initially, our team was supposed to get us out to Cyprus or Greece. But nothing has been clear. Still I’m not trying to panic or jump to a crazy conclusion, but I’d like to leave for the better part of my safety. Sad reality is I’m not sure if it’s possible at the moment. I’ve called the (U.S. Embassy), but nothing at the moment. What are we Americans here still in Israel supposed to do?”
Mikesell, a forward from St. Henry who played at Dayton from 2015-20, was also playing his first season in Israel. His team, Ironi Kiryat Ata, is also located on the north side of Israel. The Gaza Strip, where the fighting began, is in southern Israel.
Mikesell and his fiancée Quincy Kellett were able to get out of Israel, his dad Reed Mikesell wrote on Facebook, though Ryan told his dad there were rockets being fired at the airport as they departed.
“Family and Friends, THANK YOU all for your thoughts and prayers for Ryan and Quincy,” Reed wrote Sunday night. “They were able to board a chartered flight to Cyprus within the last few hours to get out of Israel during the country‘s war! They just landed via charter in Cyprus! The Israel league will now determine how to proceed. They are out and safe now! God Bless.”
Johnson, a forward from Columbus who played at Dayton from 2008-12, has played in Israel since 2018, except for the 2019-20 season when he was in France, and was with Hapoel Jerusalem this season. According to a source, he did make it out of Israel and was able to fly to Greece.
On Sunday, Johnson wrote on X, “Pray for Israel!!”
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