- 16 Jun 2008 14:44
#1560923
She should void her US citizenship, convert to Eastern Orthodox to really piss everyone off and make them jealous. I guess Russia has better opportunities for her.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/she-stayed-true-her-olympic-dream-now-shes-called-traitor
As the Summer Olympics approach, Becky Hammon has become a controversial figure.
For me, she was an anonymous figure. For you, too, I'm guessing. But that was before the borscht hit the fan.
The other day, Anne Donovan, former sweetheart of Old Dominion basketball and current coach of the U.S. Olympic team, called Hammon a traitor. What Hammon is doing, Donovan said, "is unfathomable to me."
Detractors notwithstanding, Hammon is going ahead with her summer plans. In Beijing, this small-town girl from Rapid City, S.D., will be living out her American dream... by playing point guard for the Russians.
"I don't expect everybody to understand or jump on my bandwagon," Hammon said recently.
She's a 10-year veteran of the WNBA who finished second in the MVP voting last year playing for the San Antonio Silver Stars but, until recently, she flew very low under the radar. Now she's an Internet target who's being asked to defend her patriotism.
"I know how I feel about my country," she said. "I'm very proud of what America represents to the world. But this is a basketball game. This is not life or death."
Hammon will enter Beijing National Stadium during the opening ceremonies under the Russian flag, wearing Russian colors. She has no genealogical connection to the country but was granted a Russian passport after signing a seven-figure contract with a professional team in Moscow over the winter.
Hammon isn't the only American player who carries a passport from another country; it's standard operating procedure for WNBA globetrotters because players with European passports don't count against the limit of "non-Europeans" allowed on overseas pro teams.
Financial reasons factored into Hammon's decision to apply for Russian citizenship. There are marketing opportunities in Moscow for a star player with connections to the country.
I'm not sure what the definition of a patriot is these days, but taking advantage of the free market to make a lot of money is as American as it gets.
Hammon, though, insists economics weren't the determining factor in what she characterizes as a "soul-searching" process. It was about the Olympic opportunity she didn't have in America.
Despite her WNBA credentials, at 31, she had never been invited to try out for the U.S. squad until after signing with her Russian club. The gesture was too little, too late as far as she was concerned.
Hammon could have been like thousands of U.S. athletes with thwarted Olympic ambitions. Instead, she chose the unorthodox, less-traveled route - seizing her one shot at the dream, knowing it would leave her open to abuse from self-styled patriots, cold warriors and anyone for whom the Olympics are more about nationalism than athleticism.
It may be that the Olympics, as she says, are "supposed to encompass the spirit of sportsmanship." It's also true that international borders, if not completely down, are blurred. More than ever, it's easier to celebrate athletes as individuals, rather than as chips in a geo-political poker game.
But wishing it so won't change the inherent political nature of the Summer Games. With Hammon in the lineup, the Russians are given a decent chance of contending for the gold. How would she look in the eyes of America if the Russians beat the United States?
"If you play in this country, live in this country and you grow up in the heartland - and you put on a Russian uniform - you are not a patriotic person," Donovan said.
While many agree with that hard-line approach, I'm more inclined to view the Olympics as a celebration of individual effort and accomplishment over national pride. Who says we have to root for each and every athlete that wears red, white and blue - and against their opponents?
"Olympic sports should be about unity, friendships and bringing the best athletes on the planet together," Hammon said. "Not about gloating over dominating other countries."
Hammon is catching a lot of heat, but is she really a traitor?
She should void her US citizenship, convert to Eastern Orthodox to really piss everyone off and make them jealous. I guess Russia has better opportunities for her.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/she-stayed-true-her-olympic-dream-now-shes-called-traitor