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Basketball player Mo Creek stuck in Ukraine amid Russian invasion safely crosses border

Mo Creek had been stuck in Ukraine and his parents had been asking for help to get him back home

Pammy and Michael Morgan, basketball player Maurice 'Mo' Creek's parents had been asking for help to bring back their son from Russian-invaded Ukraine. When Mo Creek spoke to 7News, the first thing he told the sports anchor Scott Abraham was how 'terrified' he was. As of writing this article, Mo's Twitter account has been updated to reveal that he has safely made it out of Ukraine.

This native of Oxon Hill, a former college basketball player at Indiana University Bloomington and George Washington University, has been playing as a professional basketball player in a Ukraine based league but was stuck in the country as Russia launched its invasion. In the interview, Creek told Abraham that, "My mother is crying everyday, my father is worried sick, my brothers are calling me nonstop everyday." 

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Before completing his course at Hargrave Military Academy, the 6 foot 5 feet Oxon Hill native played at the University of Indiana. Before this, he completed his college at George Washington University in 2013-2014. He started playing in a Ukrainian league in 2019. On Saturday night, February 26, Creek told host Abraham that at that point in time, he was stuck in the city of Mykolaiv. He had to choose between his apartment and a bomb shelter- explosions were fully audible.

The US Embassy in Ukraine is currently shut. However, Mo said that he has been staying in contact with his family and his agent in Maryland. All of them are trying to plan a strategy to make it a safe border crossing. Creek initially wanted to leave before things elevated but his team, MBC MYKOLAIV said if the league was downplayed because of one of their members, they would not get paid. This is what compelled Creek to stay back. 

They were working to find him a car so that he can drive four hours to Moldova. However, they have not been able to secure a car for him yet. Creek then texted Abraham, "I have no idea of my plan tomorrow. I'll have to wait until the morning." 

According to his parents, waiting is the most agonizing part. Pammy said, "Mike and I haven't really slept at all. We've been trying to sleep in shifts, so we don't miss a text or phone call or anything." She added that despite the calls and text messages being quite frequent, they do not make the reality any easier. She added, "Actually, the other day, I had to call my primary care doctor to get something to take because every time I dozed off, I would immediately wake up, because I don't want to miss him. So it's, um, it's a struggle right now." 

In her opinion, one of the most difficult texts to process was the following. Pammy said, "He texted me just the other day and the text just said, 'Mom, I love you,' and I lost it. I've been trying to hold it together for him, for his siblings, for my husband, just for everybody. I look at pictures around the house or things that remind me of him and I just find myself breaking down, crying."

Now Mo has updated his Twitter status with the happy news that he is now out of Ukraine and is headed to Romania. Another tweet from a friend on February 28, 2022, gave an update about his position saying: "@Mo_Creek just called, sounded like he was in a car because he's in a car on the way to the border leaving #Ukraine! Mikhail arranged a driver by some miracle. If I had anymore tears left, I'd be crying with joy right now. A rare glimmer of hope during a war." On Feb 26, Mo had been waiting to get out the country but then his return was stalled as he wrote then: "JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WOULD BE GETTING OUT UKRAINE TODAY… THE SIRENS GO OFF 😡😡😡"