Becky’s defecting (kinda)
(First off, this post needs a hat tip to the newly-found, long-running ChicagoSkyTalk.net)
San Antonio Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon recently gained Russian citizenship and is now able to play for the Russian National Team.
I’m kind of torn on this. To me, one of the things I would most like to accomplish would be to represent my country in something to which I’ve dedicated my life (Olympic journalism, anybody?), but Hammon spends so much time in Russia already, why should it be any different than somebody coming from another country and obtaining dual-citizenship in the U.S.
To each her own, but what do you think? Should Becky take the chance to earn Olympic gold with a country not of her birth or is she a traitor to the red, white and blue (of the U.S.)? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tags: 2008-Olympics, becky-hammon, beijing, euroleague, FIBA, Olympics, russia, san-antonio-silver-stars, WNBA, wnba-basketball, womens-basketballRelated Stories
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9 opinions for Becky’s defecting (kinda)
Cattwampus
Mar 16, 2008 at 7:42 pm
I don’t like it, it seems like she’s taking Russian citizenship simply to try to win a gold medal. Yes, she’s played in Russia for several years, but it’s not like she lives there full-time. She just signed a long-term extension to play with San Antonio, right?
What are the implications of being a Russian citizen, does it affect her rights as a U.S. citizen? She can still vote in the U.S., etc. I guess? I can see this move costing her some fans and endorsement deals in the U.S.
True, many athletes get sped-up citizenship to compete in the Olympics, but it seems to me many or most of them actual intend to make their home in the U.S.
Chris Lorraine
Mar 22, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I’m not crazy about her decision either. She is my favorite player in the WNBA, and I don’t know if she realizes what this could do to her image and fan base in the U.S. It’s hard to be the All- American girl that loves her country and would do anything for it, and then turn around and represent another country in the Olympics. I’ve seen already some comments mentioning that it’s not a big deal since a lot of women play a lot overseas anyways but the Olympics are a different story entirely. That being said, I don’t believe the USOC has been that interested in having her on the U.S. team. Becky is obviously one of the best guards in basketball since she is so versatile, and not having her on the team would be a big mistake. The cynical side of me thinks she is being used and suckered by the Russians into an impossible situation for her personally. If she does play for them and the Russians don’t win she would have wasted her time, and if they do win due in large part to Becky, then it would look like she turned her back on her country. I wonder if she has focused too much on this one goal and not considered the consequences.
South Dakota Fan
Mar 30, 2008 at 8:10 am
what is interesting is that becky hammon has been eligible for a great number of olympic games in her career and in all honesty has never been given a fair look. her entire career people have said she is too small, she is not a money player, or that she not able to carry a team. each and every time she has proven her critics wrong. becky is getting up there in her age and her opportunities, the olympics only happen every four years. is she wait again she will be around 35. alot of things happen in four years in terms of the physical abilities. the mind is always there , but the body changes a bit. the fact that she has always rose to the occasion in each and every setting would make me questions why the US Olympic committee did not give her a chance to represent her country, as she has always wanted. would it be better if she was playing for the red, white, and blue? absolutely, without a questions. but she is warrior, she sets goals for herself. it is why she is a great player. there is truly no player that has more heart then her. i don’t believe as a fan, that i can hold it against her for wanting to accomplish her dreams. she has stood there for nearly four olympic games with her gym bag and shoes, volunteering to play. it is like the player that never got picked on the play ground in a game. now another country recognized her talent, her competitiveness, her leadership, her inspiration, and her desire to by an olympic champion. becky is champion that has never quit, that has never given up. it is not her fault that she has never been selected to represent the America. She is committed to the United States, and as an American she does not give up and does not lose site of her goals. She figures out how to do it. like at every time in her career when people underestimated her…she did not get drafted, she did not get a look as a legit money player in new york, and she was overlooked as mvp. she has always made people look at her and say, wow, we missed that one. i think this is going to be the same way. she will perform outstandingly because she is a warrior, and the US Olympic committee will be left saying….wow who is that and why isn’t she doing that for US. and maybe for 2012, becky will be given her due and the respect that she has earned through a legitimate spot on the US team. until then i will cheer for the USA and for Becky as she goes out to play…just as she always has.
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Marilyn Knapp Litt
Apr 26, 2008 at 6:28 am
Guys do this all the time. I am compiling a list and I don’t see them raked over the coals for wanting to play on a National side when the US would not have them.
Cattwampus
Apr 27, 2008 at 4:02 am
I look forward to seeing the list. I hope you’ll link to it here when it’s finished.
Howard Speizer
Jun 14, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I agree with South Dakota fan. Couldn’t have said it better. From all that I’ve read, all she wanted was a chance to play in the Olympics. Winning was never mentioned. To her detractors,welcome to the 21st century. She is not doing anything that hasn’t been done before. The whole stink is being raised because the Russians have a good team this year,with or without her.
Cattwampus
Jun 15, 2008 at 3:26 am
I disagree with Howard and South Dakota fan. I thought the whole appeal of playing in the Olympics, for most athletes, was representing your country? So if you’re playing for another country, aren’t you just desperate to try to win a medal at any cost?
“She is not doing anything that hasn’t been done before.”
Is that true? I’m not familiar with athletes deciding to play for countries they have no blood lineage to, just for the opportunity to get a medal.
There are plenty of athletes who have played for a country they later became a citizen of (African runners who moved to the U.S. and became citizens), or of athletes playing for a country one of their parents or grandparents came from.
What Hammon is doing is totally different. And to say that an athlete is not ‘doing anything that hasn’t been done before’… does that make it right? Drug use and doping have been ‘done before,’ does that make these actions right?
“The whole stink is being raised because the Russians have a good team this year,with or without her.”
I can’t speak for others, but this has absolutely nothing to do with my opposition to the concept.
“To her detractors,welcome to the 21st century.”
Well, then the ’21st century’ as you call it will feature less interest on the part of spectators, because many of them are losing interest with drug cheats and with athletes who will become freelance citizens of other countries simply to play in the Olympics.
To me, an athlete who will take on a new ‘citizenship’ in a country they have no blood relation to just for the chance of playing in the Olympics is being very selfish.
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