Kentucky State University women’s basketball player Amina Seck remains detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement six weeks after her arrest.
According to Sadiqa Reynolds, one of the attorneys representing Seck, the student was detained just after getting through security at Louisville Muhammed Ali International Airport on Aug. 7 while on her way to New York.
Reynolds said Seck, 26, who is from Senegal, was traveling with her coach because she was in a brace for an upcoming ACL surgery. Seck ended up missing that surgery after being detained, Reynolds told WEKU Monday afternoon.
Seck may have been detained on an expired visa after missing a court date for another surgery, Reynolds said.
“It's not like she was hiding,” Reynolds said. “She's been at Kentucky State, going to school, playing basketball. Pretty high profile. I don't think it was anything that was done intentionally.”
The attorney attempted to see Seck on Monday at the Grayson County Detention Center, where she is still listed as an inmate. Reynolds said Seck has been in four different detainment facilities since Sept. 16.
“I learned when I got to Grayson County, which is where she is now, that she had been moved. She was being treated by a physician, and it's my understanding that she's in a hospital now,” Reynolds said.
When she speaks to Seck, Reynolds said the young woman is calm, but afraid.
“I just can't imagine being a student and having the burden of trying to take care of all the paperwork and do the things that need to be done, and maybe missing a date and then ending up in jail,” Reynolds said. “It's quite unbelievable.”
Seck is a senior at KSU and plays center for KSU’s women’s basketball team. She transferred from Langston University and has played for KSU in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
“Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, Kentucky State University does not have information to share,” a KSU spokesperson wrote WEKU via email.
Seck has been named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference Third Team and received conference honors for her academic performance.
Reynolds said an attorney in New York has been working to get Seck’s visa reinstated.
“What we are being told as Americans is that this is about going after criminals and bad guys and getting people off the street, and what we're finding is that no, we're actually arresting basketball players who are walking with their coaches with braces on their legs, on their way to cheer their team at a game,” Reynolds said.
