[Philior Gordov]

Professional sports are played in a highly competitive environment where emotions run high and national sentiments come to the surface despite the insistence by most federations and organizing bodies that sport and politics be kept separate. In recent years there have been plenty of controversies pertaining to the issue of double allegiances or naturalization abuses:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/15/opini ... index.html

http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Sport/Mo ... r-20051201

In individual sports like tennis and wrestling it’s not that uncommon for sportsmen and sportswomen to change the countries they are representing for economic, emotive, strategic or other reasons.

Do you think that the constantly changing allegiances of individual athletes compromise the integrity of competitions? Should an athlete be allowed to represent just one country during his/her lifetime (with limited exceptions, e.g. if a new country like South Sudan or Montenegro comes into existence)? Should a blanket ban be imposed on nationality switches?

Also, assuming that a sportsman or a sportswoman is an extreme individualist and doesn’t feel allegiance to any country, should he/she be allowed to represent himself/herself (by honoring his/her request not to have any national or other flag attached to his/her name)?

Should a person who is a Mexican-American, to take one example, and is the opposite of an individualist, but is unable to decide between two countries because he/she loves them both, be allowed to represent the two of them at the same time? (with both flags placed next to his name when competing at the Olympics or in other tournaments).

[SpaciousBox]

A strange question - though certainly interesting. This doesn't seem to really be an issue in the sporting world; in F1 for example, the nationality of the driver tends to be secondary to what team they are driving for (their sponsor). In the same way that sponsorship will determine displayed allegiance, so will the funder of a nations athletes. The British football team for example, are funded through British money and as a result represent Britain. Individual players within the British Tennis team are funded through Britain - though in many cases become individual symbols themselves which are represented above their national identity.

I would have no personal issue if someone wanted to stand as an independent, but they would then need to fund their own career. Nationalism in terms of sports is a choice. I support England because I identify with England, if someone does not then there is no reason to force them - they just shouldn't then expect to be funded by those who do. If Andy Murray - for example - wanted to be represented as a Scottish tennis player, and not as a British one, then that would be his choice. He would simply need to find Scottish funds, rather than British ones.

On the flip side, I don't actually want any players in our national team who are not British. Whilst I'm happy for those who want to stand as individuals to do so, I do expect everyone playing within the collective national team to be total citizen of our country.

[nucklepunche]

Sports should be completely separate from the state. If there is a "national" sports team it ought to represent the nation it should be as part of a non-governmental governing body. Tax dollars should never fund sports in any way, thus it is an irrelevant question. It should be up to the governing body. Were I part of my nation's governing body I would say people can choose one nationality per season to represent. I would allow anybody who resides in the nation as a permanent resident or a USA citizen abroad to compete as part of the team. However they would be banned from playing for other national teams in the same season.

[SecretSquirrel]

This poll comes up again every dang year. Why does it matter what colors the sports people wear on their sports costumes?

[Philior Gordov]

@SpaciousBox, well put, I agree with all the points you make - I do not follow sports that much, but would definitely prefer to be "properly represented" when it comes to national team competitions, so would find it difficult to identify with "mercenary players"/those who lack strong connections to the country.

The British football team for example, are funded through British money and as a result represent Britain. Individual players within the British Tennis team are funded through Britain - though in many cases become individual symbols themselves which are represented above their national identity.

Yes, Britain is a special case and one has to make this distinction. I concur with the sportsmen/sportswomen becoming individual symbols argument.

in F1 for example, the nationality of the driver tends to be secondary to what team they are driving for (their sponsor).

Yes, Vettel (to take one example) represents an American Formula 1 team, but is very attached to Germany and only holds German citizenship, so most Germans find it easy to root for him!

@SecretSquirrel, that's true, but I think that cases like that are becoming more commonplace with the passing of each year. For instance, Depardieu's decision to acquire Russian citizenship attracted a lot of controversy and some French people felt betrayed by his actions (they were no longer certain that he could be considered their "countryman"). The same applies to professional sports, because athletes (like actors) are always in the spotlight and are very much public figures.

@nucklepunche, I like your idea and it's good that you are not too flexible with regard to the eligibility requirements. I am not sure what the current realities are, but my understanding is that only a very small proportion of the US tax dollars are used to fund Olympic athletes or those participating in regional tournaments.

[The Clockwork Rat]

Sports are more ideological than they are nationalistic. At the moment, neoliberalism reigns supreme.

[R_G]

A professional sportsman/sportswoman should only be allowed to represent one country during his/her lifetime barring exceptional circumstances.


This would still allow for an athlete to play in any sports league but when it comes to competitions between nations I think you need to be a true citizen of a country to represent them. Otherwise the whole system goes to hell.


I hate how so many "American" athletes are foreigners and the Americans call them their own. It's just damn annoying.