The NBA and the olympics......a question

This one has me stumped, which is RARE!! We know that quite a few NBA stars will be playing for their country (of birth?) in the olympics.

Here's the part I dont grasp.....if they are a *CITIZEN* of the U.S., then how (or why) can they play for another country? I thought (silly me) its suppose to be country vs. country vs. country etc? Its one thing if you are NOT a U.S. citizen, I can bend if thats the case. Many of us have some German in us. So if I was in the NBA, I can play for Germany? (lol)

Ken

I can think of two explanations.

First, some countries recognize dual citizenship - if you were born outside of the USA but become a US citizen, the other country may still consider you a citizen of that country as well.

Second, some countries have things like "grandfather clauses", where if you can trace your ancestry back to someone from that country, you can be on its Olympic team. Zola Budd did something like this in 1984 to compete for Great Britain, as South Africa was banned because of its apartheid policy.

I think some sports also have a rule where, if you compete for one country, you can never compete for a different one. IIRC, Manute Bol wanted to play for the USA, but he had played for his country of birth in a FIBA youth tournament, which made him ineligible. (The most likely reason for such a rule, in my opinion: the USSR probably didn't want its athletes to defect and then be able to compete against it.)

Quote: ThatDonGuy

I can think of two explanations.

First, some countries recognize dual citizenship - if you were born outside of the USA but become a US citizen, the other country may still consider you a citizen of that country as well.

Second, some countries have things like "grandfather clauses", where if you can trace your ancestry back to someone from that country, you can be on its Olympic team. Zola Budd did something like this in 1984 to compete for Great Britain, as South Africa was banned because of its apartheid policy.

I think some sports also have a rule where, if you compete for one country, you can never compete for a different one. IIRC, Manute Bol wanted to play for the USA, but he had played for his country of birth in a FIBA youth tournament, which made him ineligible. (The most likely reason for such a rule, in my opinion: the USSR probably didn't want its athletes to defect and then be able to compete against it.)

What? I guess I'll post my VIEW instead of a question. If you LIVE HERE and are a CITIZEN of the U.S., what a slap in the face to play for ANOTHER country.

I thought it was country vs. country? Wrong I guess.

Ken

Quote: mrjjj

What? I guess I'll post my VIEW instead of a question. If you LIVE HERE and are a CITIZEN of the U.S., what a slap in the face to play for ANOTHER country.

I thought it was country vs. country? Wrong I guess.

It's only "country vs. country" in that they need a way to identify "teams". It could just as easily be Nike vs. Adidas nowadays. (No, I don't know what they would do about swimming and diving if that was to happen.)

Besides - a number of athletes who compete for other countries do so after they are told that they were not good enough for the USA's Olympic team.

There is nothing new about this, either; I remember somebody left off of the 1976 USA men's basketball team ended up playing on Puerto Rico's team that year.

Quote: mrjjj

What? I guess I'll post my VIEW instead of a question. If you LIVE HERE and are a CITIZEN of the U.S., what a slap in the face to play for ANOTHER country.

I thought it was country vs. country? Wrong I guess.

Ken

In Rugby, you can play for a country due to residence. The Japanese Rugby team has several pacific islanders. That's really odd.

I don't think it's wrong for a dual citizen to play for either country that they are a citizen of, though. I can be Canadian and British.

I know the US frowns on dual citizens though.

Quote: ThatDonGuy

I think some sports also have a rule where, if you compete for one country, you can never compete for a different one. IIRC, Manute Bol wanted to play for the USA, but he had played for his country of birth in a FIBA youth tournament, which made him ineligible. (The most likely reason for such a rule, in my opinion: the USSR probably didn't want its athletes to defect and then be able to compete against it.)

It's also to prevent 'nation shopping' or whatever you want to call it. Every now and then you will hear about a story of a US Citizen who failed to make the US team show up on a small nation's team where they have some sort of ancestry.

Anyone else watching the NBA draft? The Bucks are coming up soon.

Ken

Since you're all overlooking the obvious: because not every NBA player is a US citizen.

There was a story of a woman who didn't make the US olympic team, went to play in Russia. As part of her contract in Russia, she was required to become a Russian citizen, so she could play in the olympics.

What a slap in the face to your country, and it's totally against everything the olympics stand for.

Quote: mrjjj

What? I guess I'll post my VIEW instead of a question. If you LIVE HERE and are a CITIZEN of the U.S., what a slap in the face to play for ANOTHER country.

I thought it was country vs. country? Wrong I guess.

Ken

The NHL does the same thing, and it has to be weird playing against a teammate during such a toruney.

But what makes you think they are citizens of the USA just because they work (play) here? All they need is a green card and they can work here nearly forever. If my position in the oil industry was such that Saudi Aramco hired me I might take it and live there many years, but would I change my citizenship? Never. I can see a player playing years in the USA, then returning.