Voepel: Injuries, lawsuit could test Team USA

[pap49cba]

LINK

 

[Replicant]

Pardon the (melodrama) interruption Mechelle, but NO...Sue won't have Kelley Hardwick on her mind when she delivers a precision backdoor bounce pass to Maya cutting to the rim. Nor will Maya be thinking about Kelley Hardwick as she lays it in.

"For one thing, we'll have to see what impact it conceivably could have on the machine-like precision of Team USA...".

 

[RadyLady]

Mechelle knocks it out of the park again..

 

[RadyLady]

Pardon the (melodrama) interruption Mechelle, but NO...Sue won't have Kelley Hardwick on her mind when she delivers a precision backdoor bounce pass to Maya cutting to the rim. Nor will Maya be thinking about Kelley Hardwick as she lays it in.

"For one thing, we'll have to see what impact it conceivably could have on the machine-like precision of Team USA...".

I believe that it will have little impact the players, especially the former UConn players regardless of where this goes. They are champions, and will play like champions. I believe....

 

[easttexastrash]

It was a good read. I think that asking how this could affect the team is a fair question, especially since team chemistry could be affected if there is any chatter on the team about the two players who supposedly reported information to Hardwick.

Hopefully all of the players will avoid discussing the Geno situation and keep their eyes on the prize. It's an unfortunate situation but they all have enough time to absorb it and move forward.

 

[Blueballer]

These women are professionals now. Once they get on the court they're thinking about basketball not some legal issue.

 

[Sakibomb25]

I tend to disagree. There was some discussion that two players *might* back up Hardwick and if they are on the USA Olympic team, there will be tension. This isn't a simple case of one player not liking another player. It's one player standing by an accuser who threatens to destroy the reputation of the coach. That goes beyond just the normal "I-don't-like-this-person" tension. This is a situation that will have to be treated very carefully by USA Basketball.

 

[RadyLady]

Does this come under "creating false scenarios"?

 

[UConnCat]

I tend to disagree. There was some discussion that two players *might* back up Hardwick and if they are on the USA Olympic team, there will be tension. This isn't a simple case of one player not liking another player. It's one player standing by an accuser who threatens to destroy the reputation of the coach. That goes beyond just the normal "I-don't-like-this-person" tension. This is a situation that will have to be treated very carefully by USA Basketball.

Your post raises a lot of "ifs." Are there two players who will back up Hardwick and, if so, which of her assertions? Are those two players on the USA Olympic team? If one or both are on the team, will their identities and what they are willing to testify to be known to their teammates and USAB before the Olympics?

Of the 11 players who were a part of the USAB team in Russia in 2009, five (Cash, Bird, Charles, McCoughtry and Fowles) are members of the Olympic team.

 

[Sakibomb25]

My apologies - I wasn't trying to create false scenarios. I thought I read in one of the earlier threads that there were two people on the Olympic team who would come to Hardwick's defense. Given that information, it's a real possibility that this could divide the team.

Nan - if this does fall under false scenarios, I'll gladly delete my comments.

 

[UConnCat]

My apologies - I wasn't trying to create false scenarios. I thought I read in one of the earlier threads that there were two people on the Olympic team who would come to Hardwick's defense. Given that information, it's a real possibility that this could divide the team.

Nan - if this does fall under false scenarios, I'll gladly delete my comments.

The reference to "two players" comes from the NY Times story in which Hardwick claims that two player on the team in Russia told her about derogatory comments made by Geno. I don't believe it's been stated or reported anywhere that those two players are members of the Olympic team.

BTW, the scenario you describe is not implausible, but seems improbable to me.

 

[easttexastrash]

I tend to disagree. There was some discussion that two players *might* back up Hardwick and if they are on the USA Olympic team, there will be tension. This isn't a simple case of one player not liking another player. It's one player standing by an accuser who threatens to destroy the reputation of the coach. That goes beyond just the normal "I-don't-like-this-person" tension. This is a situation that will have to be treated very carefully by USA Basketball.

I agree. I would hope that each of these players has legal advisers who advise them not to discuss this situation, especially if the two players mentioned in the NYT article are on the Olympic team.