Russian roulette: Hammon defends decision to join Russia's Olympic team

By Pat Rooney, Special to the Rocky

Published July 7, 2008 at 8:21 p.m.

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Photo by Scott Cunningham / Nbae Via Getty Images (Above); The Rocky/1999 (Below)

Hammon, a former player at Colorado State, said her decision has been met with "overwhelming support" within the WNBA.

For the time being, at least until the worldwide spotlight finally shines on the summer Olympics in Beijing, the dust seemingly has settled around Becky Hammon.

Yet that conclusion can only be discerned by those observing the chaos from beyond Hammon's inner circle.

For the former Colorado State University All-American, life continues to be a circus of media requests, inquiries and pundit head-scratching - the same as it has been since the guard for the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars announced in April she would be fulfilling her Olympic dream not for the United States but for Russia.

"It's hard to balance everything," Hammon recently told the Rocky Mountain News. "I have to keep my well-being intact and I'm trying to focus on playing for the Stars. We've been trying to be a little bit selective on talking to media outlets just for my own sake.

"When I get over there, I'll be glad to be just with my team and family. I'm not going to do much media when I get over there. I'm trying to get it over with while I'm still here. As it gets closer, I realize the media will get beefed up even more. We've done everything. Every magazine, newspaper outlet, ESPN. You name it, we've pretty much hit it."

Getting such distractions out of the way now might be a shrewd move by Hammon. Once the Olympics begin, Hammon at least will have the solace of the game she loves to keep her mind off the U.S. uniform she is not wearing.

Hoops defection

Throughout her career - from her native South Dakota to her stellar tenure at CSU and into the pro ranks - Hammon has flashed an endearing smile and carried an alluring girl-next-door aura. In short, combining her off-court grace with her on-court skills, Hammon is the sort of player who can lure fans and entice endorsement opportunities from an international stage.

Like countless athletes, Hammon always has dreamed of competing in the Olympics. When it became clear, at least through her eyes, that it was not going to happen in a U.S. jersey, Hammon turned her sights elsewhere.

Hammon signed a contract with the Russian club CSKA Moscow and as part of her deal, she received a Russian passport and a spot on the Russian national team, which is harboring legitimate medal dreams.

By the time Hammon signed on the Russians' dotted line, she was resigned there would be no spot for her on the U.S. roster.

"I was still holding out hope for a long time to be able to play for our Olympic team," Hammon said. "My agent and I had sent out an e-mail saying (the Olympics) was a possibility, just letting people know what was going on. We sent it to the selection committee members, people around the

WNBA, stuff like that. And we didn't get one response back. To me, that is a pretty clear indication.

"If we had gotten one phone call or e-mail back saying, 'Why don't you hold off on that, you still have a chance,' if I had gotten some kind of positive response like that, I would have held out hope. I wouldn't have done it. I would have waited for that opportunity. But to me, that was a pretty clear indication they weren't interested."

Hammon's decision touched off a firestorm. Anne Donovan, the coach of the women's national team, was quoted in several media outlets as saying, "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."

Hammon made her decision once her name was left off the list of the original pool of players selected to compete for spots on the U.S. team. From Hammon's perspective, that meant she had a long-shot chance, at best, of eventually landing on the roster.

Jim Tooley, executive director of USA Basketball, said the door was not necessarily closed.

"The decision had not been made," Tooley said. "I saw an Outside the Lines where she said she wasn't in the original pool so she figured she wasn't wanted, or something to that effect. The 21 (players) we put in were the ones we had with us most recently. Would she have made it? I don't know. But there still was that chance."

'Overwhelming support'

The court remains a safe haven for Hammon, a comfort zone she is banking on to buffer her from whatever controversy might rear its ugly head in China.

Hammon is enjoying another stellar campaign for the Silver Stars, and despite what many blogs and pundits are opining about her patriotism, Hammon said she has received nothing but support from the WNBA sorority.

"Overwhelming support. Overwhelming," Hammon said. "There have been a lot of well-wishers. I don't see a lot of the negative things being said or thrown around. I'm OK even with some people who didn't agree with it. Any time you throw out something like that, a lob ball in the court of public opinion, some people are going to bat it around. I'm not overly concerned with what people are saying. I try to stay focused on the positive things."

The decision made, and with her pre-Olympics media circus slowly drawing to a close, Hammon soon will be able to focus on the tournament and the game she loves. Along with just about every women's basketball fan in the world, Hammon has turned the ultimate scenario through her head - having the ball in her hands in the final moments of a key game against the U.S.

In Hammon's view, this is about basketball, not politics. So don't expect any hesitation on her part in launching such a shot.

"I wouldn't have said I would do it if I wasn't willing and able to step up and knock down a shot," Hammon said. "This is basketball, this is not life. There is way more to life than basketball. There is way more to life than the Olympics. This is just a great opportunity, a great stage, to go out and compete. I wouldn't say I want to play the United States, but if it happens that we do and it happens I have to take that last shot, I'm going to step up and I'm going to be trying to make that shot."

• July 8, 2008

  6:43 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  SirRealist writes:

  Go Becky!

  The US team may rue the day they left this fireball off the primary list, and doing so was a slap in the face.

• July 8, 2008

  7:38 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  DakotaBronco writes:

  Becky, you should just resign your U.S. citizenship and become a Russian. I sincerely hope Russia drops out at the first opportunity and you stay there. Many of us here in the Black Hills do not wish to see you come back here that's for sure. And hopefully, those who are true Americans will reply by never sending their kids to one of your camps again. I know I wouldn't.

• July 8, 2008

  8:16 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  yeastyc writes:

  DakotaBronco, that is awful of you to say. Biggots like you are a reason I left South Dakota. I am a native South Dakotan and actually played against Becky in middle and high school (she once scored all of the points for her team and beat us when we were 10)--there is nothing unpatriotic about her, and for people to talk about her like that just because she felt this was her only chance to fulfill her long-held dream of competing in the olympics, they should just shove it. This only happened because the Olympic commitee doesn't seem to want to respond to their e-mails--you want to put together your best team, but one of the most important ingredients is people with talent who really want to be there, and she obviously does or she wouldn't be putting herself through this! Patriotism is so much more than you shallow people put on it. If she wins this for Russia, it is still an American accomplishment, they just get medals.

• July 8, 2008

  8:24 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  JohnnyBallgame writes:

  Hammon can do what ever she wants, but in my opinion if you are not good enough to make your olympic team than support them, don't go to another country. I want to play in the olympics too but I am not good enough in anything to play for the USA, so you wont see me going to Korea to play basketball on their olympic team because I am tall. Chris Kaman for the Clippers is doing the same thing for Germany and it is starting to get weird.

• July 8, 2008

  8:29 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Cowboy63 writes:

  Look at how many of these "foreign" players live, work and train in the US. After competing for Ukraine or ? in the Olympics - they will move right back to Omaha.

  With any luck the US will beat Russia in the Gold medal game and everyone will be happy.

  Her fellow players don't hold it against her and neither do I.

• July 8, 2008

  10:04 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Cwillyrun1 writes:

  I wish Becky a lot of luck, even if Russia won't beat the U.S. in the Olympics. She's an awesome woman, just too bad USA Basketball farts around and doesn't choose to show interest in a woman who has more heart than any other female being considered for the team.

  I think it's hypocritical of anyone to say bad on her for playing for Russia, yet they also wouldn't mind if a stud athlete decided to forego playing for his country to represent the U.S. instead.

• July 8, 2008

  11:38 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  dgp writes:

  I'm waiting for someone to tell the whole story about this, not just Hammon's version of it.

  She was asked before to try out and declined, hurting her chances of being asked again to try out. Yet even so, USA basketball did ask her.

  If it was "too late", how were they to know? Were they informed by Hammon about her negotiations with her Russian club team?

  How do the 1980 USA athletes who didn't go to the Olympics because of the boycott feel about Hammon playing for Russia? What do they think when they hear Hammon thanking the Russians for making it possible for her to achieve her dream? After all, the Soviets/Russians were the reason why those athletes missed their chance at competing. For many, it was there only chance at their dream, and it was taken away by those Hammon's thanking now.

  I just wish she'd finally say it was all about money. Quit playing "victim" and blaming it all on USA basketball. She had her chance and told them "no".

• July 8, 2008

  11:42 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  goAvs writes:

  People like you DakotaBronco give South Dakotans a bad rap. Team USA passed her over and Russia offered her a spot on their team. Good for her. Maybe you don't remember all the foreign born players that have played on the US soccer team?

• July 8, 2008

  11:58 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Buddy writes:

  As I understand it, the tradition of the modern Olympics is for each participating country to field its best athletes as national representatives. It's not an individual sporting opportunity to show who the best athletes or teams are. While I may sympathize with Ms. Hammond's desire to play, I can't understand her selling off her country's interests to satisfy her personal desire to compete. She may be a great person who loves her country, but I think she's making a very bad decision.

• July 8, 2008

  12:44 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  buffsblg writes:

  I have to ask the Hammon bashers if they feel the same about the literally dozens of athletes who leave their home countries and come to the U.S. to compete for us. Do you condemn them as well or does loyalty only run one way? By the way, did your grandparents or great grandparents come to this country for opportunities not available where they were? Mine did and no one calls them names.

  The sad truth is that women's basketball selection is a very political process that only coincidentally selects the best players. Becky did not go to a top name college and has not been sufficiently political and therefore she had no chance of making the team, merit or not. I would not have made the same decision, but I can understand why she did. She felt that her chance to play in the Olympics had been terminated for reasons unrelated to her ability and went somewhere where that ability was appreciated and by the way, made a pile of money doing it. I wonder how many of us would turn down the chance to live our dream and make money even if it was in another country.

  As to dgp, welcome to the 21st century. I believe that Russia is now a formal ally (at least the President keeps saying so). The wall fell, the old USSR is gone and the cold war is over, at least for most of us. Perhaps you missed this while hiding in your fallout shelter. I am unsure why Hammon should be criticized based upon a political decision made before she was born to punish a county that no longer exists.

• July 8, 2008

  2:43 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  dgp writes:

  buffsblg-

  I see you're using the same excuses I've seen Hammon backers use on many boards to justify her decision. It's as if you don't want to admit there is another side to this story.

  Well there is, and it's been lost by the media doting on the "All-American girl chasing her dream" angle they so love. The rest of the story-it's not as appealing, so they don't tell it. But it's there.

  As for the crack about me-I'm very aware of world politics, especially when it comes to the Olympics. I have piles of research (magazines, newspapers, etc.) on it, enough to write a book. I'm also acutely aware of the effect the boycott had on US athletes because I know some athletes personally affected by it.

  And about those foreign athletes-most, if not all, came to the US for reasons that had nothing to do with competing for the US. They came for education, jobs, religious freedom, etc. They've had to go through a long and arduous process called US citizenship, plus obtain a waiver from the IOC allowing them to compete for their new country before they could even compete for the US. Their competing for this country is a byproduct of their desire to be US citizens, not the sole reason they're here.

  Hammon-she got a Russian citizenship fast-tracked so she could play for her club, got a big fat contract, and...oh yeah, turned that contract into a berth on their Olympic team.

  That smacks of being a mercenary. She's sold her citizenship to the highest bidder. As a friend put it so well-just shut up and count your money Becky.

• July 8, 2008

  2:44 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  SlouchingTowardBoulder writes:

  Hammon's attitude is emblamatic of what is wrong with professional athletes. The mantra is to place self above team. Hammon believes that HER participation is a greater good than allegiance to her country. That is the definition of being unpatriotic. And for the record, I too originally hail from South Dakota and the vast majority of SD's natives could not and would not countenance this dreadful selfish behavior.

• July 8, 2008

  3:16 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Squatch writes:

  She has dual Citizenship since she plays professionally in Russia she was only offered a tryout after Team USA found out Russia had offered her a spot on their team.

  She had a dream of playing in the olympics just like all those foriegn born long distance runners we have made citizens so we could capture some gold medals.

• July 8, 2008

  4:54 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  hkwhite writes:

  It is disgusting to think an American is playing for Russia. I read several posts here and can't believe the "bleeding-heart" mentallity here. She wasn't good enough to play for the USA. I know the supporters don't want to hear this, but she, Hammon, turned down the request to try out for the US team. As for the all the foreign athletes, they have become citizens, live here, train here, and have continued to live here after the Olympics. If Hammon makes that decision, to stay in Russia, then no blame to her and glad to get rid of her.

  She is chasing her Olympic dream, but Olympic dreams are made of winning for your country, seeing your flag, and hearing your national anthem above all others, not the highest bidders.

  It's a terrible decision and a disgrace.

• July 8, 2008

  11:57 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Openminded1 writes:

  Womans 2008 Olympic team: Seimone Augustus, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker,
  Katie Smith, Cappie Pondexter, Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson..and 3 players to be announce...Where do she fit in?????

• July 9, 2008

  11:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  dgp writes:

  Right now, Hammon is looking at this as "just playing basketball" and "my Olympic dream".

  But I have a feeling the full weight of her decision will hit her when she comes to Beijing and 1) receives her Russian team credentials, 2) receives her Russian dress uniform, warmups, basketball uniform, etc., 3) lives in the Russian area of the Olympic village, 4) walks in with the Russian Olympic team, and 5) plays for the Russian team.

  As far as the majority of athletes are concerned, she'll be a Russian. Not an American playing for Russia (and for money), but a Russian.

  After a few weeks of that, she may realize this might not have been a good idea in the long run.

• July 10, 2008

  1:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Openminded1 writes:

  Last 3 roster spots: Tamika Catchings, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Kara Lawson

• July 13, 2008

  1:36 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Debra123 writes:

  While it questionable that she would sell-out the United States in a war against Russia for money.(She'd probably be more likely than most based on her actions, but that is not the point.) The fact is there is nothing cute about Hammon playing for Russia in the Olympics. The question is how scummy she is.

  The Olympics are supposed to be representing your country and/or heritage. Hammon is doing it all for the cash. And that's not what the Olympics are about.
  She is also taking a spot away from a REAL Russian who would gladly want to represent the country of her birth. Someone who call her country 'Mother Russia'. It is sickening that a greedy American like Becky Hammon would take a spot away from a real Russian just because she couldn't make her own team. And also this is a team sport in the Olympics. It would be more forgivable if this was an individual sport and she just wanted to get in the competition. She is a hired gun. Again there is nothing cute about Becky 'the traitor' Hammon's greed and willingness to sell-out her country in the Olympics.
  She is the ugly American willing to not only sell-out her country for cash, but also take a spot away from a real Russian. This trend will harm the Olympics when rich Americans who can't make their own team try to take spots away from naturally born citizens from other countries. People who's only pay would be to hear their own country's national anthem.

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