American Athlete Competing for Team Russia
June 11, 2008 by Jeanne Dupuis
Filed under Basketball, Sports Rumors
Becky Hammon is an American basketball player. She plays in the WNBA for the San Antonio Silver Stars. She had an incredible career at Colorado State where she set records for points, assists, free throws and more. She even looks like the quintessential “all-American girl.”
So, why is she playing for Team Russia???
For starters, she signed a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal last year to play for CSKA, a Russian professional club. Then in April, she signed with the Russian national team and even got a Russian passport!!!
Still, she insists that if she had a choice, she would have given up the money to play for Team USA. Last year, she was the runner-up for the WNBA’s MVP award but, for some odd reason, she’s never been considered for the American national team.
“When their list of 23 players came out last year, we’re talking about 23 players, and I was not on it, that’s a pretty strong statement that ‘we’re not considering you,’” Hammon said.
The eventually expanded the list to 30 and invited Becky to try out but she felt that, if she did participate, she’d be taking a huge risk and would put her relationship with Team Russia in jeopardy – “Why should I take that chance for a really, really long shot and pass up four years of playing over in Russia?” Hammon asked. “I couldn’t do that financially.”
Well, the Russians are certainly thrilled to have her. This brings a whole other element of intrigue to the women’s basketball event. I can’t wait!
image provided by Newscom
She can play wherever she please however; I feel that any american natural born citizen that competes aganist american by representing another country is worst than a military deserter in time of war.
Worse than a military deserter during war??? Are you kidding me? It’s a damn game. That’s it. Just a game.
She is like because she will have the opportunnity of proving that she is good enough to have played in the American team, not everybody has this chance.
So Russia will win in femmes and Spain the male tournament.
lmao, so what if she plays for a different country? look at the american olympic athletes and tell me they are all born in the USA and that they are all american,
i see black and asian ppl on the US teams all the time, hypocrite poster