The Olympics are getting closer and the Becky Hammon situation continues to heat up. It is now being brought up during every broadcast and ESPN and ABC have both ran segments or are scheduled to run segments. Bloggers and reporters alike are writing stories, fans are leaving comments, etc.
During halftime of the Storm/Silver Stars game on ABC, a segment was ran that showed USA Olympic coach Anne Donovan made these remarks: "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 in my mind. If you'd slit my wrists, I'd bleed red, white and blue. Once you give up your jersey and your right or opportunity to try out for this Olympic team and you go someplace else, you've given up your right for people to think that was a smart decision."
When told of Donovan's remarks, Hammon shot back: "You don't know me. You don't know what that flag means to me. You don't know how I grew up. The biggest honor in our classroom was who could put up the flag, roll it up right, not let the corners touch the ground. Obviously we definitely define patriotism differently. True patriotism would be giving everybody a fair shot, an equal opportunity and to not play politics. That would be a very American and patriotic thing to do."
I have seen the support for Becky growing and growing since just a rumor of her playing for Russia started. And now that the decision has been made there are several categories of people that are involved in this whole thing. There are people that are dead set against it and call her every name they can think of including 'traitor' and 'unpatriotic'. Then there are people that don't really want her to do it but they support her decision. And there there are people like me, that are 100% supportive. Oh and of course you have the group of flip-floppers that say they don't care if she plays for Russia but if Russia happens to beat Team USA then Hammon will be hated and people in America won't forgive her................... WHAT?? Sore ass losers! Get a grip its a sport!
Not to mention that I am surprised by the amount of people who talk out of the side of their neck about this entire situation without knowing facts and swear up and down that she didn't even play with Team USA in 2006 and will argue that she turned them down then when they asked her to travel and play with them then. Get your facts straight people! She played with them in 2006, but Team USA was too far up other players asses to invite Hammon to a sanctioned event. (One that actually counts..... that's for the dummies reading this)
I've heard one of the lamest excuses from the older generation of people that are against it. It usually goes a little something like this.... "People from my generation......." Isn't this the same argument people use to condone and defend racism? Yes I just pulled a race card because anyone that uses the excuse "Well back in my day...." or "When I was growing up..." or anything in that form is just looking for an excuse to justify their lack of being able to mentally grow.
You can blame you being "old school" or from a generation that is from the cold war era, but fact is fact, Russia is no longer the enemy. It is time to let that whole thing about "my generation" go. The argument isn't valid in 2008.
Anne Donovan continues to be a dumbass and has called Hammon "unpatriotic" but has yet to give a real explanation as to why the 4 time All-star, the runner up MVP, and fan favorite, Becky Hammon has never been seriously considered for Team USA. Hammon traveled and played with Team USA in 2006, but it was for a non-sanctioned FIBA event. After that, Hammon became a non-factor in the eyes of Team USA.
In September 2007 when Team USA gathered in New York to begin training people were asking why Hammon wasn't there, despite lobbying comments from her WNBA coach
Dan Hughes at his team's final post-game press conference during the WNBA Western Conference Finals. When asked about her absence, Donovan confirmed that Hammon had been considered, but would not go into further detail.
.......... Can you say shady??? Wouldn't it have been easy enough right then to say she turned it down? I believe that the reason Donovan didn't want to go into detail is because at that point she knew that it was complete bullshit that Hammon wasn't on the original list and she didn't think the Hammon question would come up when she had all these other "super stars" at her camp. Again, this is my opinion.
So why hasn't someone asked Anne-Donovan, since she is the one that likes to run her mouth so much, the right questions? People are too damn nice when they are talking to her. Someone needs to ask:
1. Why has Hammon never been asked to play in a FIBA Sanctioned event until September 2007 after it was known she just signed a long term deal with CSKA?
2. Why wasn't she on the original list of players in 2007?
3. Would you personally like to have seen Hammon in a Team USA uniform this summer in Beijing?
4. In September of 2007, when you were interviewed you said Hammon was considered but then refused to comment any further after that. Could you please comment on that now?
How is it even possible that Hammon has not played for a sanctioned event? Can you name 5 guards that have been better than Hammon in the past 3 years? Everyone would like to turn this into a Hammon vs. Bird argument and act like we Hammon supporters are saying Hammon should be on the team and not Bird. I personally think Bird NEEDS to be on the team and I have always said that, but I also feel like Hammon NEEDED to be on Team USA.
Hammon is aware that she is going to catch some heat for her decision, however, Hammon has also received an enormous amount of support. Fans, broadcasters, WNBA players, Russian players, and coaches have all come forward in support of her. Some have said they couldn't do it, but they understand why and they support her decision.
And I cannot help but wonder if Anne Donovan wants to strangle Sue Bird for her statement in support of Hammon. Bird said, "It's an interesting situation, it's tough. She could make our team, therefore everybody is making a big deal out of it. In a way I feel bad because she's going to have to deal with this the entire season. She's explained her side so I know where she's coming from and I don't think she's unpatriotic. [But] it is going to be weird to see her in a Russian jersey in what could be the gold-medal game. I think there's going to be a lot of different sides saying a lot of different things. But if the question is, 'Is she a good enough basketball player to make our team?' The answer is, 'Absolutely.' "
Teammate in Russia and in San Antonio, Edwige Lawson-Wade says, ""I think it's good, I played in Russia for four years and those girls are so sweet. Becky is so nice, too, so she's going to be just fine there. And their team is going to be good."
After MVP Lauren Jackson heard the recent comments made by Anne Donovan, she said "That would be something that Anne would probably say. But I don't think that way at all. She's not a traitor by any means, obviously didn't know the business parameters behind the decision before using 'such harsh words'. "Being an Olympic athlete myself, I think Becky and I are coming at it from two completely different perspectives. She's got this opportunity that a lot of people don't get and I support her in whatever she decides to do. I think Becky's a great player and she hasn't had the opportunity to play for the United States. My dream, as a kid, was to play for Australia in the Olympic Games. I love my country and I'm so patriotic, I would wear a flag on my forehead if I could. But I like Becky. I can understand what she's thinking. I empathize with her, and it is a very difficult decision and people will bag her and put her down and say things."
Nancy Leiberman has also offered up support for Hammon and her decision saying, "It is a little bizarre to me that she has never played on a USA team. That is mind boggling to me. Over the last two years, you can't name five players better than Becky Hammon. She has raised her game and done it with class and dignity. I don't think her dream was to play for Russia in the Olympics, but you have to take the opportunity where and when it comes. Whatever Becky does, I support. How can you fault somebody when someone is giving you this incredible opportunity? They're getting a superstar. Russia was good without her. They're going to be even better with her."
Carol Callan, an executive with USA Basketball who previously had declined to speak on the record about Hammon's bid to make the U.S. squad said, "If we didn't think she could make the Olympic team ultimately, we would not have invited her. Everyone in the pool has a legitimate shot (to make the Olympic team)...it's up to each person who's invited to decide whether they want to do that or not, and so again, Becky's decision was basically up to her."
In September, USA Basketball expanded the list to more than 30 names. Hammon was invited to try out just days before training camp began. Hammon believes that the invite was a courtesy invite and so do I and many other fans. People began to question why Hammon wasn't on the original list and Team USA covered their own asses by giving her a last minute invite to say "Oh we invited her but she turned us down."
She knew that if she accepted the invitation and participated in international play for the United States, she would greatly diminish the value of her Russian contract, one of the most lucrative in women's basketball. Essentially, she says was choosing between a guaranteed seven-figure contract and the long odds of making the U.S. team.
"Why should I take that chance for a really, really long shot and pass up four years of playing over in Russia?" Hammon asks. "I couldn't do that financially."
Hammon makes the maximum WNBA salary, approximately $95,000. Her Russian team pays her six times that much. Knowing that her character and her patriotism would be questioned in America, Hammon (and her agent Mike Cound) made sure it was worth the trouble. In March, she signed a four-year deal worth well more than $2 million. By agreeing to dual citizenship, Hammon nearly tripled her salary. "There's nothing more American than taking advantage of an opportunity," she said, smiling. If Hammon leads the Russians to a silver medal, she'll receive an additional $150,000 in bonus money. For gold, she'll earn $250,000.
Lieberman told Hammon to "just tell everybody you made a business decision," and Hammon acknowledges that money played a role. But ultimately, the opportunity to play on the Olympic stage was too compelling to pass up, and Hammon admits she would have chosen to play for Russia even without financial incentives rather than sit out the Olympics entirely.
"Yes, I would've done it. It hasn't been about the money," she said. "The money to me is icing on the cake, it's a nice bonus, it's what I get paid to do."
Some of Russia's most prominent players said that they initially were opposed to having an American on their national team. The team's star, Maria Stepanova, said, "We thought we could manage on our own." But after getting to know Hammon as a teammate in the Russian league, Stepanova -- who played for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury from 1998-2001 and then again in 2005 -- is a believer and a fan of Hammon's. "She will help us at the Olympic Games. Practically, she is almost like a Russian. She has mentality similar to ours."
Added Russian teammate Ilona Korstin: "When we play the world championship and the Olympics, we miss something. We were very close, but we never won the gold medal, so I think this something is a good point guard. This something is Becky."
Becky sums it up like this:
"When I was a little girl there was no WNBA, so the Olympics was the highest thing and, in my opinion, it's still the highest thing in basketball. It's the ultimate prize. And the dream of playing in the Olympics is something I've carried around with me for 30 years.
There has been a lot of soul searching over this decision, but now I'm just going to be at peace with it, enjoy the moment and take the whole experience in. "If I had been a serious contender for the U.S. team I would have played with them at some point, in a FIBA event, or would have been on their list of 20 -some players, I wasn't. It just wasn't meant to be, but that's all right with me.
This door was open to me, and in my mind, the U.S. was never open to me. I just feel everything's working out the way it's supposed to work out. This is not a business decision for me. That's not the reason I'm doing it. Yes, I'm a basketball player and that's my business. But I've never been one to sit life out on the sidelines, and I've got this one shot at the Olympics, so I might as well take the shot. I don't expect everybody to understand, or jump on my bandwagon.
I know how I feel about my country. I'm very proud of what America represents to the world. But this is a basketball game. This is not life or death. The real heroes are over in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm playing a game. I think the Olympics are about unity. Bringing all the countries together. It's not about going out there and beating everybody up. It's supposed to encompass the spirit of sportsmanship. I kind of let everybody just say what they want to say, and I'm comfortable knowing what I know in my heart. I have courage. I have strength. I can sleep at night. I rest on my faith alone, not on Anne Donovan's opinion or anybody else's opinion.
The decision on so many levels doesn't make sense to a lot of different people. That's OK. It makes perfect sense to me. I'm sure it might be awkward a little bit, at first, but once the ball goes up we're just playing basketball. I'm going to do what I can do to get my team organized. It'll be a competition, just what the Olympics are about, it'll be about competition. And if it comes down to us and the U.S., I'll be playing to win. And I wouldn't have made that decision if I couldn't say that honestly."
Lieberman believes that the decision to play for Russia could damage both Hammon's marketability and perhaps her popularity in San Antonio. "My greatest concern is the imaging piece of this; she will no longer be looked at as the All-American girl," Lieberman said. "She could be looked at as a spoiled athlete that didn't get her chance to make the USA team and took her ball and went somewhere else. I wouldn't ever want anybody to think of her as a traitor."
Hammon laughs at the notion that she might lose endorsements. "I don't have Glamour Magazine or American Express or Coca-Cola knocking on my door trying to endorse me anyway. I'm still an American girl. I'm not over here selling secrets to the Russians. This is not espionage. This is a game of basketball. We are not at war with Russia. The Cold War is over."
Hammon expects some backlash. But she says she's not afraid of having her reputation "tarnished."
Lieberman isn't the only one that believes Becky will not recover from the decision. Bloggers and writers and some fans believe that also. But I don't think she has to worry about recovery. She is an athlete and her peers are athletes and they all understand the competitive drive the business side of things. Becky is a very likable person she has a tremendous fan base and very loyal fans (shoutout to the Hammonites) and she will be fine with whatever she chooses to do with her life after basketball.
She isn't the first athlete to gain citizenship and play for a different country and she wont be the last. Hakeem did it for basketball, and in hockey Brett Hull wasn't selected for Team Canada and got a US Citizenship and played with Team USA. America likes it when top athletes swing their way but cant seem to handle it when a top American athlete goes somewhere else.
And if when Becky is 50 and retired and some people only remember her for playing for Russia then they aren't basketball fans.
But until then, GO HAMMON GO!
By the way, since people want to turn this all political, they shouldn't be protesting Becky playing for Russia, they should be pissed off that the games were awarded to China. Now, that's an issue!
Note: Though the Russian National Team will begin training camps June, but Hammon will not miss any of her WNBA San Antonio Silver Stars games. Hammon earned her spot on the Russian team with her play in the Russian league.
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