Bahraini.TV

Drive-through citizenship taints Olympics

by mahmood on 22/08/08 at 9:06 am · email  · print  

Before 200 nations congregate for the next Summer Olympics in London, there are a few things the International Olympic Committee needs to tweak in the system. Just minor stuff that nobody really pays attention to, anyway.

Can the anthems.

Lose the flags.

Drop this whole antiquated concept of athletes representing their country for reasons of pride, patriotism and all that other stuff that gets forgotten the other three years and 348 days between Games.

The Olympics aren’t about any of that anymore. They have become an exercise in passport free agency.

It was cute when Italy fielded a hockey team in Albertville with a roster including 14 Canadians and a goalie from Massachusetts. It was amusing four years ago when Greece, of all that is Olympic holy, built its baseball team in Athens with Americans.

But now we’re just north of a swap meet.

The U.S. and Russia played in the semifinals of the women’s basketball medal round Thursday. Becky Hammon, a nice girl from South Dakota, plays for Russia. She does this because she signed a contract with a pro team in Russia with the understanding that she also would play for the Olympic team. (Russia Olympic coach Igor Grudin also is sports director of CSKA Moscow, which signed Hammon for $2 million.)

There’s no reason to take issue with an American athlete who seeks employment overseas, even if it is ironic one had to go to Russia to become a capitalistic pig. Seems to me Josh Childress did it recently. The difference is Childress didn’t have Greek citizenship papers fast-tracked so he could play in the Olympics.

“I could never do what she did,” U.S. player Kara Lawson said. “I will play for USA and that’s the only country I will play for. That’s the only uniform I will put on.”

Sylvia Fowles, another U.S. player, said, “People have the right to do what they want. Becky — she’s just Becky. But we still have respect for her, somewhat.”

Asked if she could ever see herself playing for another country, Fowles said, “No. I love my country.”

The U.S. won the game, 67-52, advancing to the gold medal game. Hammon had a miserable night. She was double-teamed, made only 1-of-6 shots and finished with three points.

Afterward, she walked the patriot/mercenary tight rope as best she could.

“I’m not responsible for other people understanding the situation,” she said. “All I’m responsible for is my actions and my words. I know where my heart lies and I love my country and I’ve said this 1,000 times — I’m just a basketball player.”

She sarcastically referred to the attention of her case as “a national fiasco.”

But there really is no playing down the significance of Olympic free agency. It was a big enough issue for the U.S. players that Lisa Leslie said they debated it at lunch on game day.

IOC member Craig Reedle estimated there are 25 athletes in Beijing who obtained drive-thru citizenships. “If floodgates begin to open, then clearly it offends the overall principles and that, I am certain, we would look at,” he told the BBC.

It’s debatable whether there’s anything the IOC can do. If a country wants to grant somebody naturalized citizenship in the name of a faster 4×100 relay, nobody can stop them.

J.R. Holden, who is from Pittsburgh, plays for Russia’s men’s basketball team (and also CSKA). Armenian wrestler Ara Abrahamian competed for Sweden. Rashid Ramzi won the 1500 for Bahrain, then pronounced: “I am Moroccan.”

The two Georgian beach volleyball players who had that dramatic match against Russia the other day? They’re actually Brazilian. Chris Kaman of Wyoming, Mich., played for Germany’s basketball team. Then again, he was a Clipper, so nobody really cares.

We’re no better. The U.S. has a Chinese table tennis player (Jun Gao) and volleyball coach (Ling Pang), and a Kenyan runner in the 1500 meters (Bernard Lagat).

But it’s one thing to move to another country for a better life and then compete there. It’s another to have country names attached by Velcro.

U.S coach Anne Donovan has called Hammon a “traitor.” She toned it down Thursday, saying: “Becky made a great business decision.”

But if this all about business, why are they raising flags and singing anthems?