Former Colorado State University standout Becky Hammon will finally realize her dream of playing basketball in the Olympics.
But the girl who grew up in the heartland of South Dakota won’t don the red, white and blue of her native country this summer.
Instead, she’ll play basketball for Team Russia.
When Hammon, last year’s runner- up for the WNBA’s most valuable player award, didn’t make the first cut for the U.S. team, she signed a multimillion-dollar deal to play for CSKA, a Russian professional club.
She’s not of Russian descent, nor does she speak the language, but she was fast-tracked for Russian citizenship earlier this year by the highest levels of Russian government, according to ESPN.
So this summer, should her team win the gold in Beijing, Hammon will stand on the podium with “Russia” emblazoned across her chest and the strains of that country’s national anthem playing in the background.
Is she a traitor, or just a scorned but savvy businesswoman?
“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 in my mind,” Team USA coach Ann Donovan told ESPN.
At first, Hammon rejected the thought of playing for Russia. But with the odds of making the U.S. team so long, she signed a four-year deal worth well more than $2 million. “There’s nothing more American than taking advantage of an opportunity,” she told ESPN, smiling.
But Hammon says it’s not about the money. (It never is, is it?) She just wants the chance to compete at the Olympic level.
Perhaps we’re hopeless romantics, but part of competing in the Olympics, we thought, was pride in representing your country.
The Olympics, and the world, have changed greatly in recent years. Just look at Russia’s embrace of American capitalism as it lures top talent to its country with high-paying contracts. Amazing.
Hammon isn’t a traitor, and we’ll root for the former Ram when she plays. But if Russia and the U.S.A. go head-to-head, we’ll cheer for the red, white and blue.
Just call us old-fashioned.
