Becky Hammon is a traitor! At least she is according to Ann Donovan, the head coach of the U.S. Women’s basketball team. “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,” said Donovan. I think that’s a bit extreme when you consider that it’s just basketball. This is not a war, and it could be argued that the Olympics aren’t held in the same esteem as they once were. Just ask the people trying to put together the men’s U.S. team. But, that’s another story for another day.
Becky Hammon has always wanted to play for the U.S.A. in the Olympics, but when they released their list of 23 potential candidates for the team she wasn’t on it. Perhaps she should have given up on her dreams once it became apparent she wasn’t a prime candidate for the U.S. team. Fortunately for her the opportunity to fulfill her Olympic dreams has presented itself and she has decided to take it. She is going to play for the Russians in Beijing this August. No, she isn’t of Russian descent; as a matter of fact she’s from Rapid City, S. D., and she graduated from Colorado State. She’s an all-American girl in almost every sense of the word. However, since she (like many other American WNBA players) plays in another country in the offseason it gave her a bit of a loophole to realize her lifelong dream.
Would she rather be playing for the U.S.? Probably, but even though she’s a very accomplished player in this country they didn’t feel like she was good enough to be on their team. She had to play for Russia in order to fulfill her dreams of playing in the Olympics. Does it mean she’s a traitor? I don’t think so. I think she’s just a basketball player who is on the verge of realizing her Olympic dreams. We should all be so lucky.
C.C. can be reached at cfelicec@yahoo.com.
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