Everyone complaining about the WNBA player on the Russian team

[jakldawg]

and others of her ilk, you have a <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">comrade</span> friend in Gregg Doyle.<font size="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">

</span>Citizen lame: Olympic carpetbagging amounts to athletic treason

<font size="2">(dey tuk ur jrrrbs. and vice-versa)</font>
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[Uncle Leo]

And I'm surprised at the responses he's getting. I suppose I shouldn't be. Words like "idiot" and "closed-minded" pepper the responses.

I want to know what's so closed-minded about wishing athletes who represent the USA (or Germany or Kenya or Russia, etc.) were actually from the USA (or Germany or Kenya or Russia, etc.). Why don't we just put everybody in a big pot and then divvy up the teams? We're all "citizens of the world" anyway, right?

Rampant political correctness spiraling out of control.

 

[Todd4State]

I think what will end this is when countries- likely the USA, maybe Russia or China start poaching the best athletes in the world in all sports. Notice I said best. I don't think this is a big deal as long as the athletes are merely B-list ringers, but one day you'll see the US team with basically Dream Teams in all sports, and then something will happen.

 

[patdog]

If they thought she was worth a ****, they should have at least invited her to try out for the team. And if they think she's not, what difference does it make if she plays for Russia? The fact is this goes on all the time and it's completely within the rules of international basketball.</p>

 

[AssEndDawg]

If they thought she was worth a ****, they should have at least invited her to try out for the team. And if they think she's not, what difference does it make if she plays for Russia? The fact is this goes on all the time and it's completely within the rules of international basketball.</p>

she turned down the invite because it could have affected her Russian citizenship and the big pot of money they were paying her. He little sob story is ********. She was invited to try out, but she was already spending the rubles.
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[mstateglfr]

If they thought she was worth a ****, they should have at least invited her to try out for the team. And if they think she's not, what difference does it make if she plays for Russia? The fact is this goes on all the time and it's completely within the rules of international basketball.</p>

she turned down the invite because it could have affected her Russian citizenship and the big pot of money they were paying her. He little sob story is ********. She was invited to try out, but she was already spending the rubles.
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</p>actually, she wasnt invited to the Team USA tryouts...at least she wasnt at first. she was left off the list of 20 original invitees. she was the runner up for MVP last season(i think), and yet she was left off the original list.
so she felt she wasnt wanted, and CSKA Moscow's owner got her to play for the Russian national team.
and the USA list was expanded, and she was included in the expanded invitees. seriously, if Team USA's brass didnt think she was in the top20, then why would she think she has a shot to make the team?

F it. they didnt originally want her, why would she beg?

seriously, does anyone think this would be an issue if she decided to play for Greece or Canada or Germany? hell no. its because she is playing for the Evil Iron Curtain that she is getting a verbal beatdown by unathletic pundits.
and what about all the American coaches who have coached foreign teams thru the years?!?! why dont/arent they getting lit up for being unpatriotic or whatever? ****, Russia's men's team is coached by some dude from Boston. why isnt he getting hell over representing Russia?
and Russia's men's team has a starting PG that is American. JR something or other, played at Bucknell. he isnt getting horrible press.

i swear to god, the inconsistent application of arbitrary rules is sickening.

edited to add- didnt Nolan Richardson coach the Mexican men's team? i remember listening to the announcers talk about how great it was to see him coaching again. the gushing comments that were written about him while he was coaching Mexico were damn near Croomesque.

 

[patdog]

She played on a USA team last year (after being repeatedly snubbed). She didn't get any playing time on that team playing behind players who didn't even make this team. Then she was left off the original 23 players invited to camp. Only then did she sign a contract with the Russian club team. Team USA finally invited her to a second round of tryouts, but she had contractual obligations to the Russian club team. Considering the history, you'd have to be a fool to really believe they were going to give her a legitimate chance to compete for a job. The invite was just to try to keep her away from the Russian team. A friend of mine is a former All-SEC women's basketball player. Her comment to me about this whole situation was, "I don't blame her a bit for playing for Russia. You have no idea how political the selection process for the national team is."

 

[AssEndDawg]

She played on a USA team last year (after being repeatedly snubbed). She didn't get any playing time on that team playing behind players who didn't even make this team. Then she was left off the original 23 players invited to camp. Only then did she sign a contract with the Russian club team. Team USA finally invited her to a second round of tryouts, but she had contractual obligations to the Russian club team. Considering the history, you'd have to be a fool to really believe they were going to give her a legitimate chance to compete for a job. The invite was just to try to keep her away from the Russian team. A friend of mine is a former All-SEC women's basketball player. Her comment to me about this whole situation was, "I don't blame her a bit for playing for Russia. You have no idea how political the selection process for the national team is."

I've seen at least five interviews with her and she keeps saying she would do <span style="font-weight: bold;">ANYTHING</span> to play for Team USA. I guess that is anything except go to the tryout they invited her to. I hear what you are saying but it's all meaningless ********. All this "why would she think she had a chance" crap. She would think she had a chance because she was invited to a <17>ing tryout that's why. All her crying about Team USA and she didn't even take a shot?</p>

Maybe it's happened in the past with other atheletes, but had I known about it my feelings would have been the same then as they are now. You are an AMERICAN citizen. Competing again your own country in the Olympic games is wrong. I don't want to put her in jail or anything but I think it will, rightfully, affect her career in then WNBA. I don't care if you agree with me or not. I already know enough people who feel the same way I do that I'm nice and cozy in my opinion.
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[Todd4State]

she doesn't want to come across as bitter, which is kind of how she would sound if she came out and said, hey I had no chance, it's all political.

Which, let's face it, probably is true, but if you come out and say it, it just sounds bitter. Kind of like the little league all-star team, just on a MUCH grander scale. Despite the tryout offer, I believe her when she says that she didn't have a shot. The real question is should she have made the team, or is it just purely politics?

 

[PBRME]

If they thought she was worth a ****, they should have at least invited her to try out for the team. And if they think she's not, what difference does it make if she plays for Russia? The fact is this goes on all the time and it's completely within the rules of international basketball.</p>

she turned down the invite because it could have affected her Russian citizenship and the big pot of money they were paying her. He little sob story is ********. She was invited to try out, but she was already spending the rubles.
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</p>Call me a traitor, money *****, whatever you want, but I would play for Russia in the olympics to keep my 7 figure salary intact combined with a possible 6 figure bonus. Especially when I couldn't come close to those earnings in the US. It's not like she's selling govt secrets or anything. If she was then I'd agree to hang the *****.

 

[wpnetdawg]

not play very well.

 

[patdog]

it was too late because by then she had contractual obligations to her Russian club team. When she's been asked why she was snubbed by the USA team, she's taken the high road and said that she doesn't know.

 

[wpnetdawg]

nm

 

[patdog]

Of course, she's also the only player that I know is a current WNBA player (and I didn't even know that until about a week ago). Seriously, though, I don't see what the big deal is. For one thing, it's a sport that nobody gives a **** about anyway, and I personally don't give a **** about the whole summer Olympics to begin with. So that makes a lot easier for me not to really care that she's playing for Russia.

 

[wpnetdawg]

You should be like me and have to look up how to spell her name so I could look her up on Wikipedia.

 

[patdog]

I've always wondered about that.</p>

 

[wpnetdawg]

go back to the original article and learn there was no D at the end of her name.

 

[OrrDawg]

I suppose the next thing we could expect to see is a bunch of Norwegians competing on the Jamaican bob sled team at the next winter Olympics.

On a side note, George has a better eye than Bill ever did.

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