Much has been made of late as to the ongoing ramifications of the very fact that WNBA player Becky Hammon has chosen to play for Russia at the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Hammon’s patriotism has come into question and that of her loyalty to her country.
Becky Hammon playing for the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA . picture courtesy of wnba.com/ontheroad/…….
I for one view Hammon’s decision as no different from someone who goes out to chase an opportunity for financial gain. As it is , she’s not selling state secrets that are of national security and therefore that’ll prove fateful for this country. What she’s indeed doing is to ply her trade to the highest bidder. In this case it’s Russia. Were it anyone else I seriously doubt that there’d be this furore arising from this. But there are some amongst us who still view the country as one vast evil Empire that’s still out to spread Communism to all corners of the globe.
Bernard Lagat of the United States who was born and raised in Kenya. Lagat competed in the Athens Olympics for Kenya at the 1500m and won the silver medal there. He’s now seen as the presumptive favorite for this year’s title at the Olympics. picture courtesy of oregonlive.com/trackanfield/2007/osaka …………….
Well considering that the Iron Curtain has now fallen and the Berlin Wall is nothing more than afterthought to many. The talk of being unpatriotic and allegations of a traitor on the part of Hammon, is something that I view with a great deal of cynicism and being outright farcical. As with anything thought of being somewhat being done surreptitiously . Albeit that Hammon is being granted citizenship by the Russians in order that she can compete in the Beijing Olympics. This is no different to athletes that’ve been given the same sort of benefit here in the United States whereby they’ve foregone their birthright to take up citizenship of another country to compete at the international level for another country.
Marathon runner Meb Kelfizighi whose silver medal at the Olympic games in 2004 was a deserving one. Here he’s seen competing in a road race the Quad City Times Bix 7. Kelfizighi born and raised in Kenya was granted citizenship to the United States ten years ago. picture courtesy of quadcitytimes.com/sports/bix 7
This has been done for a number of years by not only the United States but by several countries around the world in a litany of other high and low profiled sports. Furthermore when the best and brightest of minds are lured away from abroad to be of benefit to this country . We hear no apparent outcry but yet when it comes to an athletic endeavor . It’d appear that many it is their right to question a person’s right to make decision as to what is best for them at that particular time.
Khalid Khannouchi (left) the former world record holder in the marathon who was originally born in Morocco, but is now an American citizen. picture courtesy of fingerfoodfile.wordpress.com/sports/athletics/khannouch……………..
Khannouchi’s citizenship was fast tracked through the INS by none other than New York senator Charles Schumer (D-NY). We shouldn’t feel aggrieved by the fact that this senator was behind this. But it does set aside precedence with regard to others who seek political asylum legitimately. In the case of Khannouchi he was granted his citizenship as nothing more than the fact he was deemed as a special need for the mere fact of his prodigious talent as an athlete. It wasn’t done out of necessity for a need.
A young Cassius Clay (center) stands atop of the podium having just won the gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Having returned home and then seeking a professional career in the ranks of boxing. Clay’s career was later derailed by the US government as he was stripped of the heavyweight title and sentenced to six years in prison for his refusal to serve in the military at the height of the Vietnam War. That judgement was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 1972 , some five years after the original verdict. Perceived as something akin to a traitor at the time , Clay was later forgiven in some circles. But in the eyes of many he’s still seen as a pariah. picture courtesy of bbc.co.uk/sports/boxing/olympics/1960
Professionals from all walks of life are granted patronage within this country and are afforded the chance to practice a vocation at various levels, from lawyers to doctors to scientists, to college professors and other fields of endeavor. Many in the end choose to give up their birthright and become an American citizen. No outcry there if it’s to the benefit of this country by those who’ll benefit from it. Which is in effect the whole country at large in one form or another. But yet there are those who’d opine and say what is being done by Hammon is reprehensible and tarnishes the country and what it stands for.
So before we think about going out to tar and feather Hammon. Don’t you think that we ought to get our priorities straight first ? OK so an international basketball game was lost to the Russians some thirty six years ago. Hasn’t the Dream Team made up for that escapade since then ? And as far as I can remember this game we so dearly love to call the game that the whole world wants to see the Americans do so well in has now become something of a global phenomenon. The United States in hockey prevailed over the mighty Russians in the Olympic games under the tutelage of then coach Herb Brooks. If nothing else this is bordering on whining of the highest order by some who are in effect being extremely infantile to say the least. Patriotism can in many forms but it’s how one defines it and the actions therein that really counts.
The talent will go to wherever its needs are best met and fed. And that’s all that is happening here with Hammon . The fact that there happens to be a large financial gain to it all shouldn’t be lost. But look at this way the Olympics is no longer representative of the ideals of Baron Pierre de Coubertin , the founding father of the modern Olympic games. The athletes may well be chasing glory for their country but it’s the financial goals that now seems to wet their appetites.
Below you’ll find a transcript of an account written by me with regard to this very topic that was placed on another site. Take time and an effort to read not only this piece but also the link provided. And then having done so , I’d be most obliged to read your comments . No matter whether they’re to the contrary in its objectivity or for the pro side of the subject therein.
http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/justanotherfan/2008/06/20/ToServe But To Do So With Distinction And Pride
abritishman aka tophatal ………………………
another thing to consider is this: if an athlete really wants to be an olympian, abut his/her talent level isn’t at par to make the US squad (not saying anything about ms. hammon’s talent, just generalizing), i’d see it possible for the athlete to opt to play for another country.
take me for example. i was born and raised in switzerland, and i would rate myself a double-black, very good skier. that wont make me a ski racer though. would i make it on the swiss olympic team though? probably not. however, if i offer my services to my mother’s nation (philippines), i might just be the first filipino participant in down-hill ski racing at the olympics. why not? i’d probably do it in a heartbeat, even if it meant being out-classed on every level imaginable.
kdjs
Hammon was given the chance of making the US squad. They felt at the time she wasn’t up to par. She was asked again and returned for a second tryout and was told that her services were no longer required. A slight perhaps as she’d deemed it ? May be !
But on the face of it if she’s offered the chance to compete on that very stage that she so desires then why not . She’d be a fool to look a gift horse in the mouth. It’s not as if the same thing hasn’t been done here by the United States with regard to not only athletes but others who are deemed to be of importance and of benefit to the country. It’s been done with doctors, scientists and engineers. The only difference is that they’re not competing at the international level in a form of athletic endeavor.
They’re still being paid to ply their trade and in this case Hammon is no different. But yet she’s being decried as some sort of an unpatriotic Benedict Arnold . Which if anything is the furthest thing from the truth.
abritishman aka tophatal ………….
unpatriotic is a very harsh word to put on a player. we arent china who would want yao to play even if he were on crutches, and the slightest hesitation on his part would “severely question his patriotism”.
so if we could, just like we did with the church, separate sports from politics, that would just be dandy.
given our thirst for sensationalism, that’s not going to happen though. too bad. really a pity that sports has to be ruined by politics and money, huh? (hope my dripping sarcasm gets noticed).
so if i buy my gas south of the border coz it will save me a buck (i live 15mins from mexico), would that make me unpatriotic?
or i drive a honda for reliablity, which in turn, saves me thousands in avoided repairs by ford (sorry, ford drivers). does that make me unpatriotic?
hardly, i believe.
i’m just doing what’s best for me and my wallet. its a shame in the 1st place that these wnba players have to go over-seas during their off-season here, just to make ends meet. guess it keeps everything in perspective.
reminds me of the book “hunt for red october”…
aswissfilipinochineseamericanman aka kdjs
kdjs
In no way would I have the temerity to suggest that Hammon was being unpatriotic. If anything more damn power to her in her stance. I’d have done the same thing given the chance to do so.
The world around us is changing and it’s about time people wake up to that very fact. The US’s power is slowly diminshing on the world stage and no one is any longer in all honesty prepared to play second fiddle to her. It’s only the politicians and their laymen that’d want us to believe otherwise.
With the rise in power of such countries as China and Russia as well as India . The US has to now realize that things are now changing and they’ll either have to go with the flow or become an isolationist all over again.
abritishman aka tophatal ……….
ah, we’ve come to the inevitable transition into either politics or religion.
but those are my sentiments, exactly. just as the world has caught up with the US in basketball, so has the world caught in many other ways as well.
it’s called globalization. correct me if i’m wrong, but wasn’t that inherently an american idea? ironic how it’s the US that now suffers the consequences of globalization.
some might call it imperialism. others mcdonald culture, but it all means the same: the world is getting smaller by the day and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.
call it the “end of days” if you’re into that, call it “opportunity” if your glass is always half-full. i’ll simply call it “change”, known to be the only constant in this world anyway.
there’s nothing we can do about the chinese building cars cheaper than we could ever dream of. or india, for that matter. truth be told, an indian car company has purchased the brands, and along with the brands, all the development and engineering secrets of jaguar/land rover.
as one of my favorite comedians once said about globalization and race(ism):
there’s nothing you can do about it: black, white, brown, 200 years from now, we’ll all be beige.
kdjs
There is something that can be done but it’d would mean the US having to listen for once rather than always dictating terms. And as far as having all the answers to a problem it’d help if they were prepared to listen once in a while from a willing partner.
Globalization being what it is, is a situation that the country should’ve seen coming. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see it.
I spent eight years working international finance and banking for a major international financial concern in the heart of London. Mergers and acquisitions is a real eye opener as to the various economies around the world.
But I can also tell you this having served in the army and travelling around Europe , N Africa and seeing action in Ireland is all that I’d ever want at this juncture.
The woes of the country is far and wide and they’re culpable to the indifference to the duplicitousness of the administrations of the successive governments.
abritishman aka tophatal ………..
The Olympic Games in Beijing will be a unique opportunity to rediscover the brotherhood among peoples.
Melandroweb
Be that as it may there are still many who’ll have their own agenda. And at the same time question the fact that the games are being held in Beijing, China.
To me it’s rather pointless of those questioning China hosting the Olympics. When for all intense and purpose the US emboldens the actions of countries such as the Sudan with the sentiments bandies about by the administration and in particular that of the State Dept and the President. On one hand we state that the country is an ally on the war on terror . But the depsotic leadership of Omar al Bashir is allowed to follow with the atrocities that the world witnesses in the Darfur region of that country.
It’s somewhat trite to deride the Chinese for their alleged actions but to overlook what’s happening in Africa.
abritishman …………….