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Becky Hammon
Hammon’s Russia ‘Defection’ Rankles Team USA
June 16, 2008 06:09 PM
Becky Hammon’s decision to join the Russian Olympic basketball team has provoked debate about athletes who choose to play for foreign countries.
30-Second Summary
Basketball player Becky Hammon grew up in Rapid City, S.D., and has no Russian ancestry, but she will be playing for the Russian national team in the 2008 Olympics.
Hammon obtained Russian citizenship last year to secure a lucrative off-season playing contract from club team CSKA Moscow. When it appeared that she had little chance of making the U.S. Olympic team, she decided to play for the Russians.
Many, including U.S. coach Anne Donovan, have labeled the WNBA star a traitor, but Hammon says her loyalties have not changed. “Will I be playing for Russia? Yes. But I’m absolutely 100 percent still an American,” Hammon said. “I love our country. I love what we stand for. This is an opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Olympics.”
There have been many previous cases of athletes choosing to play for other countries, many of which have been very controversial. Earlier this month a Polish-born soccer player scored two goals for Germany against his home country, leading a Polish politician to declare that athletes playing for other countries should be stripped of their citizenship.
Hammon believes that this kind of nationalist sentiment goes against the spirit of the Olympics. “Olympic sports should be about unity, friendships and bringing the best athletes on the planet together and not about gloating over dominating other countries,” she says.
But some say that recruiting foreign athletes is entirely about dominating other countries. Since 1992, the United States has won eight medals from athletes who previously competed for other countries. “We call them migrant laborers,” says Kevin B. Wamsley of the International Center for Olympic Studies.
Hammon obtained Russian citizenship last year to secure a lucrative off-season playing contract from club team CSKA Moscow. When it appeared that she had little chance of making the U.S. Olympic team, she decided to play for the Russians.
Many, including U.S. coach Anne Donovan, have labeled the WNBA star a traitor, but Hammon says her loyalties have not changed. “Will I be playing for Russia? Yes. But I’m absolutely 100 percent still an American,” Hammon said. “I love our country. I love what we stand for. This is an opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Olympics.”
There have been many previous cases of athletes choosing to play for other countries, many of which have been very controversial. Earlier this month a Polish-born soccer player scored two goals for Germany against his home country, leading a Polish politician to declare that athletes playing for other countries should be stripped of their citizenship.
Hammon believes that this kind of nationalist sentiment goes against the spirit of the Olympics. “Olympic sports should be about unity, friendships and bringing the best athletes on the planet together and not about gloating over dominating other countries,” she says.
But some say that recruiting foreign athletes is entirely about dominating other countries. Since 1992, the United States has won eight medals from athletes who previously competed for other countries. “We call them migrant laborers,” says Kevin B. Wamsley of the International Center for Olympic Studies.
Headline Link: Hammon to play for Russia
Hammon was the MVP runner-up in the WNBA last season, but she was not invited to try out for the U.S. national team. She signed a contract with club team CSKA Moscow that included Russian citizenship and a chance to join the national team. With little chance of playing for the U.S. this year or in the future, the 31-year old Hammon decided to join the Russian team. “There's nothing I wanted more in my basketball career than to represent the United States. I grew up dreaming to play in the Olympics for my home country,” Hammon said. “This is just a great opportunity for me to play in the Olympics and hopefully break some stereotypes, both here and over there.”
Source: ESPN
Reactions: Hammon a ‘traitor’
Anne Donovan, head coach of the U.S. team labeled Hammon a “traitor.” USA Basketball later softened its stance. Executive director Jim Tooley told CNN, “We look at this as an individual decision that Becky has made and she’s in a position to feel free to do as she pleases. She’s playing within the rules.”
Source: CNN
Donovan had harsh words for Hammon: “It’s unimaginable, especially when you are talking about Becky Hammon, who is apple pie and that is what she always has been known as. To think of her willingly putting on a jersey for Russia is unfathomable to me. You’d have to tie me down and force it over my head and I still would be fighting it off, I’m sure. I’m an American. Period.”
Source: Pro Athletes Only
Background: Women’s basketball players in Russia
During the WNBA offseason, many players sign large contracts to play in Russia. ESPN profiled two Americans—Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird—who are each paid a half-million dollars and treated like royalty in Russia. Due to a two-American limit per team, Taurasi and Bird use foreign passports from Italy and Israel, respectively. The foreign passports allow them to negotiate larger contracts, though a Russian passport would be even more valuable. This is the reason that Hammon decided to become a Russian citizen even before she decided to play for the national team.
Source: ESPN
Historical Context: Athletes competing for their non-native countries
Zola Budd was a South African runner who set world records in the 5000 meters. However, South Africa was banned from the Olympics and it appeared that Budd would be unable to compete. With help from U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail, Zola—who had a British grandfather—was granted British citizenship in just a few weeks. The move was controversial because she was able to jump other prospective citizens who had been waiting years. British citizen Jane Furniss questioned Budd’s loyalty: “When our flag goes up and they play the national anthem, would she feel she had won for Britain or South Africa?”
Source: Time magazine
There have been many hockey players who played for teams outside their country of birth. Brett Hull and Adam Deadmarsh were both born in Canada to American mothers and Canadian fathers, and held dual-citizenship. As juniors, they both chose to play for the United States because they had a better chance of making the team. Petr Nedved defected from Czechoslovakia to Canada in 1989, gained Canadian citizenship in 1993 and played for Canada in the 1994 Olympics. He tried to play for the Czech team in the 1998 Olympics, but could not because he had already played for Canada. He was allowed to play for the Czechs in the World Cup of Hockey, though, because he had not played for Canada in that competition.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Perhaps more than any other sport, soccer has had players switch national teams and ignite controversy. The multiracial and multinational makeup of many teams in the 2006 FIFA World Cup angered some far-right nationalists. French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen said that the French national team—which is full of players from former French colonies—“cannot recognize itself in the national side.” Others saw the national teams as a way to teach tolerance of other cultures. Valon Behrami, a Kosovan refugee, played for Switzerland. His story was published in a Swiss children’s book, which begins, “Our national team can teach us how different cultures can live together in our country.”
Source: International Herald Tribune
Currently, two Polish soccer players are competing for Germany in the Euro 2008 tournament. In Germany’s opening game, Polish-born Lucas Podolski scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Poland. In response, Polish politician Miroslaw Orzechowski called for Polish citizens playing for other teams to be stripped of their citizenship. “If someone performs in the colors of a foreign state, there’s already a desire there to renounce citizenship,” he said. “You can’t say it more clearly.” Despite playing for Germany, Podolski says he remains loyal to Poland: “I have two hearts—a German one and a Polish one!”
Source: Deutsche Welle
The United States has attracted many immigrant athletes to compete in the Olympics. Using EB-1 visas intended for aliens of extraordinary ability, the United States has brought in about 50 Olympic athletes, eight of whom have won medals. The process has angered many American-born athletes, who believe that the foreign athletes are taking their spots. Yueling Chen, a Chinese race walker who competed for the United States in 2000, defended the process. “The games are international. I should belong to the whole world. I am international,” she said.
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
Reference: Olympic eligibility rules
Hammon is eligible to play for Russia because she has Russian citizenship and she has never played for the U.S. team. If she had played for the United States, she would have been forced to wait three years to play for a newly acquired nationality. Once she plays for Russia, she is not eligible to play for the American team in the future. The full Olympic Charter is available at Olympic.org; the rules governing nationalities are on pages 81–2.
Source: Olympic.org
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