Becky Hammon is a traitor

[dadofandrew]

I have some German, English, and Norweigan heritage in me, and I would have no interest in playing for any of these countries just because back in the 1800's, some of my ancestors decided to leave. However, for some reason, some folks do.

 

Of course, I see no future in a low stakes online poker World Cup, so I'm not too concerned.

[MessiahRp]

I think it's like wrestling now, where if you change your inflection to a deeper tone, and speak broken English, and wear a red unitard, you can join the Russians.

 

LOL. Nikolai Volkoff was elected to office in Baltimore. I guess under the OP's logic Maryland turned communist. ;-)

 

Honestly who cares. One good player with a bunch of Russian players who are probably not so good. So she'll carry a weak team and heck end up an ambassador to the sport. Remember Comrades of Summer with Joe Mantegna?

 

 

Rp

[MessiahRp]

She plays for the WNBA and during the offseason she plays in a Russian Pro-Basketball league (let's remember that the cap for top WNBA salaries just went up to $750,000 and she's probably nowhere near that). She tried to make the American Olympic team but wasn't going to make the team. So what if she chooses to live her Olympic team playing for a country in which she resides and is a naturalized citizen in now?

 

 

From ESPN:

 

 

"The jersey that I wear has never made me who I was. It has nothing to do with what's written on my heart," Hammon told ESPN.com Tuesday. "Will I be playing for Russia? Yes. But I'm absolutely 100 percent still an American. I love our country. I love what we stand for. This is an opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Olympics."

The 31-year-old Hammon, who averaged 18.8 points and 5.0 assists for the San Antonio Silver Stars last season, said she has long been overlooked by USA Basketball for a spot on its Senior National Team. Last summer, when USA Basketball released its list of the pool players from which the U.S. Olympic team would be chosen, Hammon's name was absent. She later signed a lucrative contract with club team CSKA Moscow that included the possibility of playing for the Russian Olympic team.

Later, Hammon received an invitation to try out for the U.S. team, but she said contractual obligations with CSKA left her unable to attend. Before she made her final decision, she said she and her agent, Mike Cound, reached out to USA Basketball for clarification on where she stood. They came away with the impression that she wasn't in serious contention to make the team. So Hammon took her Olympic dream elsewhere.

[Diskono]

I don't see the problem. If she wasn't selected to the US team, and she qualifies to play for another country, why not? Happens all the time in international sports.

[bullox]

I could probably be a star on the Monaco basketball team, seeing as I rocked it in intramurals in high school.

[DocLuna7]

If I remember correctly from the first WBC a few years ago, ARod was asked to play for the Dominican Republic, but ended up playing for the US because he said he wanted to honor his citizenship. I thought that was a pretty classy move on his part, as he had even lived in the Dominican for awhile growing up. That being said, it was pretty humorous to see Mike Piazza playing for the Italian national team. I mean, seems a bit weird for a guy from Pennsylvania.