He left his native Ivory Coast for America to pursue a dream, was unknowingly caught in a human trafficking ring, and after years of hell former TCU basketball player Souleymane Doumbia says, “It was all worth it.”

This week, his story that was chronicled on the LeBron James’ produced series, “Uninterrupted’s Real Stories of Basketball” for Vice TV was nominated for a Sports Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The episode, “Scam Dunk,” can be found on Vice or other streaming platforms.

This is one of those stories that could easily be a feature length film.

Doumbia was a backup center at TCU under coach Jamie Dixon from 2021 to ‘23. After earning a degree in General Studies in 2023, Doumbia transferred to Sam Houston State, where he played for one season.

Unlike his first stay in the United States when he left Africa to attend high school and play basketball, Doumbia no longer fears being deported. He has fulfilled part of his dream, to play basketball in America.

Now both his dreams, and priorities, have shifted. He lives in Euless, Texas, and is married with two young girls, ages 3 and the other a few weeks old.

“I am in a great place. Everything worked out,” he said in a phone interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “My hope now is to get my green card.”

Obtaining a green card is a challenge these days; the new administration in the White House is moving at a different speed, and a bit more ... “deliberate?” when it comes to these matters. He has applied for the card, but the waiting process is now longer, and more complicated.

He said he hired a lawyer to aid the process, but what he really needs is for someone in a position of authority to simply move his application closer to the front of the line.

His hope is to travel overseas to play basketball, perhaps in Spain or France.

“If I leave without a green card, the (application process) gets terminated,” he said. “A lot of this just comes down to luck.”

So he waits. While he waits, he trains at TCU almost daily, and practices with other high level players in Dallas.

Waiting is frustrating, and it does not compare to what he experienced when he first came to the U.S. as a teenager who was exploited by bad actors who were trying to flip him for money.

By the time he arrived to TCU, his story had been told during a 60 Minutes report, in March of 2020.

Doumbia left the Ivory Coast with the promise to attend a prestigious “academy” in North Carolina, provided by others whose goal was that he would be good enough to land a Division I scholarship, and make it to the NBA; they would take high percentage of his income.

The “academy” he attended was a joke, and he soon found himself stuck in poor living conditions with no leverage while playing under the fear that if he acted out he would be sent back to Africa. What happened to Doumbia is hardly new.

“There are a lot of kids, and it’s not just in Africa with basketball,” he said. “It’s in Central America or South America with baseball.

“You have to play the game smart, and do not let them use you. Don’t follow anybody blindly. Look into what they’re promising you. I went through it. When I was back home, my dream was to come to the U.S. and to play in the NBA. Someone said to me, ‘I have a scholarship and I’ll bring you to the U.S.’ I didn’t do any research. I just saw the opportunity to get closer to my dream.

“This is definitely still going on. I hope kids see that (Vice documentary), and spread it around.”

The one person who should receive proper credit in Doumbia’s story is former TCU assistant basketball coach Cody Hopkins, who worked under former head coach Jim Christian, from 2009 to ‘12.

Hopkins had seen Doumbia play in high school, and was looking for potential college level players. Hopkins found Doumbia was playing in Thailand, in 2018 - ‘19. At the time, Doumbia had effectively been kicked out of the U.S., with a 0.000001% chance of returning.

When the two talked, Doumbia was leery of just about anybody. After many conversations, Hopkins convinced Doumbia into applying for re-entry into the U.S. It wasn’t a half court shot. More like three-quarter court heave.

Because Doumbia was a victim of human trafficking, the officer in Thailand granted him a chance to come back to the U.S.

“Cody was not like other people,” Doumbia said. “He showed me he had the best interests for me. He had my back and he was ready to whoop somebody’s butt for me. He has done so many things that a lot of people wouldn’t do. He did what was right.

“As you grow you have to learn the world is filled with a lot of evil and bad people, but there are a lot of good people. You have to give people’s chances, too.”

Doumbia is 26 years old, a husband and the father of two little girls. He is a college graduate, and while it’s doubtful he will ever play in the NBA he is living a dream.

It was hell to get there, but it was worth it.

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