Becky Hammon- traitor to USA Basketball team?

[dsorc]

Wow, how is this even a story? Don't people realize this happens all the time in a whole bunch of sports? Let's use a couple of NBA examples: Nash was born in South Africa but plays for Canada, Dalembert was born in Haiti but plays for Canada, Duncan was born in US Virgin Islands but plays for USA (and as a note, never played against his home country), Sheldon was mentioned in the article as an American playing for Russia, Deng is, I believe, Sudanese but plays for UK, and the list goes on and on. The coach calling her a traitor just sounds ignorant given how common this is and it's even worse when they didn't even want her on the team to begin with. That coach is just afraid of her competition being better now.

EDIT: As a note to the people that mentioned Kobe, FIBA wouldn't allow him. Once you've represented a country internationally you're usually not allowed to represent anybody else.

[BROWN]

She wasn't invited to the US
u snooze you loose.

[dockingsched]

the coach is a traitor for not inviting one of the best players onto the team. thats a disservice to this country's olympic ambitions.

[drew881]

I'm more interested in the question of her Russian citizenship. Not necessarily how legit it is and how much time she spends over there, but more so how it affects her American citizenship. I was under the impression that Americans have trouble getting citizenship from other countries while retaining their US citizenship (whereas having dual citizenship is easier if you are born in another country and come to America).

Also, I think guys like writerman see things so narrowly, in that they view nationality and citizenship as a single, stable concept that is fixed, unchanging, and an identity. This may not be the case, especially in the modern world where one can live in so many different geographic areas, that the idea of homeland, home, etc are completely lost. Who are you to say that Hammond has to play for the country she was born in, just because some people fought in some wars 200 hundred years ago. What you call freedom, is not freedom. It is the "freedom" to think exactly like everyone else under "one" nation, when we all have our own identities.

Good for her. She isn't doing anything wrong. She might be taking a position from a Russian player. Let that Russian player go play for another country like Hammond is doing (it will probably be more difficult for the Russian to, given Russia's bureaucracy).

Many posters have already mentioned how the US has done the same thing gladly accepting athletes from other countries (Navratilova anyone?). The US is the land of immigrants too; does that make us a land of traitors?

[Meatcookie]

The WNBA players don't make that much money from the WNBA. Also, there aren't very many sponsorship deals to be had in the States. If you are lucky enough to play ball right out of college (lets say 21 or 22 years old) until you retire at about 32 or 33, then you have 10 to 12 years to make your money. This is your job.

What if you went to college for 4 years and you were only guaranteed a job in your field for 12 years maximum? What would you do?

WNBA players from all 13 teams play for different countries during the off season and make extra money.

http://www.wnba.com/news/overseas_0708.html

What Hammon is doing is most likely the first of many.

[breaker91]

I'm more interested in the question of her Russian citizenship. Not necessarily how legit it is and how much time she spends over there, but more so how it affects her American citizenship. I was under the impression that Americans have trouble getting citizenship from other countries while retaining their US citizenship (whereas having dual citizenship is easier if you are born in another country and come to America).

In my experience it tends to be reciprocal. Basically tit for tat. I think the only general case where it is relatively easy to retain dual US citizenship is if you're also a Mexican citizen. However, with money and legal resources you can get around these general conditions pretty easily.

I read an early article about this story and US born WNBA players with dual citizenship is an increasingly common occurrence. This is because a female player can make several times as much money playing in Europe vs the WNBA and the Euro leagues have import rules that dictate the number of citizens on a particular team. This is why Diana Tuarasi (Italy) and Sue Bird (Israel) also have dual citizenship.

[duppyy]

Whats wrong with playing for a country that wanted you before your own country. Most likley she sees herself living in russia her whole life now so might aswell play for them.

[UrbanLegendMD]

Becky can be my little traitor any time.

[KingOfTheCourt]

Becky can be my little traitor any time.

+1

I agree 100000000000000%

[Chubby Chaser]

She's definitely a traitor. I don't think she really understands what she's getting herself into until she plays against USA in the olympics. Del Harris was hired in the last olympics to coach the Chinese team and implement a basketball program that could grow and evolve. They paid him pretty well so he agreed not thinking too much about it. But when he played the USA team, and the USA team was struggling and if lost to China would of been eliminated from the medal round. He said he felt like he betrayed his country and would never do it again. I think Hammon will go through the same feelings if she faces USA in an elimination game. This would be horrible for her to do. She's bitter because the USA team didn't want her, so she jumps ship and plays for another team in the olympics? This is the Olympics. You're supposed to represent YOUR country. You're not supposed to outsource your abilities to the highest bidder to make money. I heard that her contract is structured so that the higher medal she wins, the more money she gets. This is the definition of Sell OUT

[mkwest]

This reminds me of Brett Hull. If Team USA did not give Hammon the opportunity to play for our team, then more power to her if she has the opportunity to play for a medal elsewhere.

[Dtown84]

This would be horrible for her to do. She's bitter because the USA team didn't want her, so she jumps ship and plays for another team in the olympics? This is the Olympics. You're supposed to represent YOUR country. You're not supposed to outsource your abilities to the highest bidder to make money. I heard that her contract is structured so that the higher medal she wins, the more money she gets. This is the definition of Sell OUT

umm...you do know she had dual citizenship long before this right? Unlike Del she's legally been a citizen of the country she's representing in the Olympics for years. She pays taxes there, she plays basketball there, she's spent a good chunk of her adult life there. It's not about outsourcing it's about two countries she's a citizen of, one that didn't want her and the other that did. If she wound up winning against team USA it would just be their own damn fault for not taking the numerous opportunities to add her to the team. Instead of some BS attempt after she already committed to Russia.

[Serpo]

How's that even a story ? If someone doesn't care for you why wait for him if you have the opportunity to play for someone that actually does care about you .

If someone has nothing to do with that country at all i don't like it but she actually has relegations with Russia so no big deal at all.

Edit: Hmm foxsports isn't fox conservative bigtime ? I've heard ridicolous stories about Fox News or whatever the name is . ( i'm not American so dunno ) So i'm not suprised this is a big story for Fox .

[miller31time]

umm...you do know she had dual citizenship long before this right? Unlike Del she's legally been a citizen of the country she's representing in the Olympics for years. She pays taxes there, she plays basketball there, she's spent a good chunk of her adult life there. It's not about outsourcing it's about two countries she's a citizen of, one that didn't want her and the other that did. If she wound up winning against team USA it would just be their own damn fault for not taking the numerous opportunities to add her to the team. Instead of some BS attempt after she already committed to Russia.

Yup. And once again, I cannot stress the financial importance of her decision. WNBA players, let alone stars, do NOT make much money. Their product isn't a hot commodity. Many WNBA players are forced to take 2nd jobs or play basketball the entire year (12 months straight), just to get by.

Hammon followed the steps. She first tried to join team USA. They didn't want her. She tried again. They still said no. This happened numerous times. Hammon, not wealthy by any means, then turned to the other place she has citizenship in, and a place that actually wanted her services.

There is nothing wrong with this. Heck, the "American way" is to make as much money as possible within legal limits.

[Muzzleshot]

I'm fine with it as long as she's not giving away national secrets. Hopefully she hasn't been
spending her free time looking at classified documents. If she has we're screwed.

I've never heard of her before, but she's quite the looker.
...for a communist.

[hoops4life]

This is kind of along the same lines and I found it to be interesting. I understand that Hansen isn't as good as Hammond, respectively but still he is an American playing for Russia. This has received no press.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,51 ... 71,00.html

Former BYU basketball player Travis Hansen hopes to be wearing red, white and blue at the Olympics this summer — for Russia.
The U.S. has the same colors as Russia, where Hansen has been embraced for his basketball skills and humanitarian efforts. He is so well liked in Russia that he has been given citizenship and an invitation to the national team's Olympic training camp.
If he makes the team, he could wind up facing the Americans later this summer. For Hansen, it is an opportunity to play on the biggest stage in sports, albeit for a different country than he could have ever imagined while growing up in Utah.
Hansen said he is an American first, but that the U.S. roster was already stocked with names like Kobe and LeBron, and USA Basketball wasn't going to consider a 30-year-old who had played one season in the NBA and the rest in Europe.
"I'd love to play for Team USA but they didn't invite me," he said.

[Don Draper]

Many of the answers in this thread dismay me, and say a lot of really negative things about the state of patriotism in this country. IMO, some posters here don't deserve the freedoms they enjoy here because they exhibit -zero- sense of gratitude toward the USA by excusing what this selfish woman has done.

I agree with the coach. SHE IS A TRAITOR. It's disgusting that anyone would put their personal ambitions above patriotism toward a country that has given them so much.

Absolutely disgusting. If there was any justice, she would have her US citizenship revoked.

Now presenting......... Senator Joseph McCarthy

Becky Hammond must have been the other shooter on the grassy knoll.

[BubbaTee]

I remember hearing something about Chris Kaman wanting to play for Germany, since he had no chance of playing for the USA.

[ropjhk]

Good for her. Even with the invite to try out for the US team, she was likely not going to be on that team. Can't blame her for accepting the Russian offer when she had little chance to play for the US. Lots of athletes cross international borders to play in the Olympics, and this is just another example.

[Datruth345]

team USA disrespected her, i don't see anything wrong