My Country Tis of Thee !

[Artifact]

Speaking, only for myself, & having served 'Our Country' in the military, voluntarily, I find it difficult to accept American athletes representing other countries, trying their best, to defeat our players, representing our country. These same players, gained their playing experience in the US & are using it against the hand that helped them to were they are !

 

[maple]

And how do you feel about American athletes (and coaches) who gain experience/grew up abroad and use that to the benefit of the USA.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Speaking, only for myself, & having served 'Our Country' in the military, voluntarily, I find it difficult to accept American athletes representing other countries, trying their best, to defeat our players, representing our country. These same players, gained their playing experience in the US & are using it against the hand that helped them to were they are !

They have dual citizenship. Parents of different nationalities and heartstrings that are shared. They have a choice. Nothing more American than the freedom to choose. I'm a veteran too.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

They have dual citizenship. Parents of different nationalities and heartstrings that are shared. They have a choice. Nothing more American than the freedom to choose. I'm a veteran too.

In the case of Gabby that's true. However, I'm fairly certain Becky Hammon didn't have this when she chose to play for Russia in the 2008 Olympics. Those are the situations where I get bothered.

 

[visitingcock]

Speaking, only for myself, & having served 'Our Country' in the military, voluntarily, I find it difficult to accept American athletes representing other countries, trying their best, to defeat our players, representing our country. These same players, gained their playing experience in the US & are using it against the hand that helped them to were they are !

Meh. 8 straight gold

 

[visitingcock]

I assume the title is a spell check malapropism. Pretty good one though

 

[cancontent]

Don't know if this situation is a black and white one. One reason why this is happening I believe is due to the fact professional players are eligible. If it was the old format, would this be the case?

The other challenge is that USA Basketball's situation is so different from other countries because of the amount of talent available to choose from. A lot of talented players will never get the chance to play for the country even though they want to. Look at Steph Curry only playing in his first Olympics compared to others while he's been playing at a high level with multiple championships.

At the same time, it cuts both ways when you see someone like Embid playing for the US, when he's originally from Cameroon. He was a key piece to the team's success in the semis.

 

[GamecockFam]

I have no problem with it. Countries are just giant man-made experiments on different methods to respect your neighbor and get your cut of the "pie". In the end, we're one human race stuck on this planet together. If someone wants to experience the Olympics and has been given an opportunity by another country, go for it! I think the only gray area for me is if someone represents a country in which the government is committing genocide or other similar atrocities against their citizens.

 

[maccca3232]

This is not an American issue, this is a global issue. While the US have this issue in Basketball, China has a much bigger issue in Table Tennis.

Here is a list of Naturalized Olympic Table Tennis players from China.

In Basketball there is a limit of one naturalized player per team, The Opals had Sami Whitcombe this tournament. I do not know the rules for Table Tennis.