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Posted on 08/16/2008 10:50:42 PM PDT by hole_n_one
I was watching the Olympics tonight and came across the game between Russia and Australia in women's basketball.
The announcer said a name that was vaguely familiar to me, Becky Hammon.
Hammon was born in Rapid City, South Dakota. Hammon's father is a member of the United States Coast Guard.
She played for Rapid City Stevens High School, Colorado State University, where she earned All-American honors and then for the WNBA's New York Liberty.
Then a funny thing happened.
Hammon was not selected to play for the US Olympic team, so, in order to have the opportunity to participate in an Olympics, she decided to obtain Russian citizenship and put on Russian red...........
Sickening. I hope everyone that knows her, shuns her.
Let me guess? She’s the short one holding her hand on her heart during The Star Spangled Banner right? Well we know where her heart is don’t we.
Don’t sweat it.
Obtaining foreign citizenship means losing your US citizenship. Living in Russia is punishment enough.
Colorado State Univeristy is another liberal college; in ways this move by Becky makes sense to me, as our Women’s basketball is in another league than the Russians and the liberal college will faster un-american feelings with any student.
Strangely, I work closely with women’s basketball, and I do not remember Becky going through the younger trials. I’ll have to check my photo files.
Is that right? I thought the US allows double citizenships?
Most of the U.S.A. table tennis team is made up of natural born Communist Chinese.
The way I understand it is like this:
IF you are born with dual citizenship, (Say, a US serviceman father serving in Korea, married to a Korean National - the child being of an American citizen serving overseas.) you may retain dual citizenship.
However, if you are born in the USA (natural-born citizen) and swear allegiance to another Nation (by taking their citizenship) it is a de facto renouncement of your US citizenship.
I could be wrong here; am researching.
I doubt she’s lost US Citizenship.
Big deal I say. She wanted to play but wasn’t good enough for the US team so she went to a team that would take her. She’s not shelling Georgian villages.
I agree totally. Where's the Olympic spirit? A girl wants to play in the Olympics, and this gives her the opportunity to do so. Good for her.
Agreed,also,she has a half-a-million reasons to play
for Russia.
Just ask Barry Obama and Peter Jennings....
So if the racists in America had turned down Jessie Owens, he should’ve upped with Hitler’s Olympic team?
High there Weeg. Way to bring Hitler into the conversation for no reason. I don’t think he would have taken a Black man as he wanted to showcase the alleged superiority of Aryan athletes.
She’s fulfilling her personal dreams the only way she can. Her playing for Russia doesn’t aid the cause of Putinism in any way. It’s just an athletic competition.
For some athletes the Olympics are a national pride deal, for others it’s a personal thing. I certainly hope she loses. If both teams advance Russia will play team USA in the semifinals.
But to suggest this tantamount to some kind of treason is a bit ridiculous. It’s a basketball tournament, she didn’t join the KGB. Her actions haven’t caused harm to anyone other than girl who would have gotten her roster spot if she wasn’t there (two other Americans tried out).
For some it’s “all about me.”
I wonder how she would feel if it came down to Russia vs the US for the Gold and Russia won? I bet she’d feel great about it.
She's just fine.
Well duh, she’s playing for Russia. She’s not playing cause she wants to lose.
That can’t happen though, they’ll meet in the semifinals if both win in the quarters.
Nothing to do. She will get spanked if she goes up against the best.
“Sickening. I hope everyone that knows her, shuns her”
This is absolutely ridiculous! She could not make team USA and so was invited to play for a country where she routinely plays in a league. It’s the Russian Olympics team not the russian army. ultimately it’ll mean nothing to 99.99% of the country but the Olympic experience will mean everything to her. Also, note in the photo her hand over her heart during the US anthem...better than 95% of the atheletes who play domestically in the NFL,NBA,MLB, etc.
She’s playing basketball, not joining their military.
She’s fine.
Exactly the same thing as if she was putting on a cosmonaut suit to fly a Russian rocket to the Space Station because she didn’t get picked for a U.S. Shuttle launch.
No big deal. Not treason.
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