Becky Hammon: Traitor or Just Living the Dream?

I was flying back from BlogHer in San Francisco on Monday when I saw a clip on ESPN (thanks for the tv's at each seat Virgin America) that floored me.

Becky Hammon, who was came in second in the MVP voting last year for the WNBA, felt slighted by the American Olympic Women's Basketball Team when a list of potential players was released without her name on it so she decided to play for the Russian Olympic Team.

Becky Hammon was born and raised in South Dakota.

I didn't even realize you could just change citizeship in order to play basketball in the Olympics. Sure she plays basketball in Russia in the WNBA off season, but still.

My visceral response as an American was disgust. How could she do this? Sure our country has had its share of embarrassments in the recent past and I may not agree with our government's policies all of the time but I am still an American. I cannot even fathom representing another country in the Olympics. (Not that I can imagine being in the Olympics, but you know what I mean.) And Russia? RUSSIA? Does she not remember the cold war?  Hasn't she seen Rocky IV?

Hammon insists that it is her dream to play basketball in the Olympics. She says that since the American team didn't seem to have any interest in her the next logical step to fulfill her dream was trying to get on the Russian team.

Consider this from Justine Larbalestier:

The coach of the US Olympic squad, Anne Donovan, has called her a traitor. Others have different views:
like how can Becky be a traitor when she was never asked to try out for
the US squad despite putting up MVP (most valuable player) numbers and
being one of the best guards in the world?

Athletes don’t have a long shelf life. Hammon’s already 31. She has at most
six or so playing years left. And then what? Earning as much as you can
while you can and saving it in preparation for the many, many years of
your life when you’re not playing is smart. Even if it means playing
for a country not your own.

Point taken. Becky Hammon isn't getting any younger. If she gets injured she may never get the opportunity to play in another Olympics. Her next chance wouldn't be for another four years.

Hazel from Right Fielders had this to say: 

...asserts that people wouldn’t be so upset about her decision if she
were playing for a country like Switzerland. In fact, a number of
American players play for other countries pretty routinely in the
Olympics.

Hammon’s case has attracted so much attention because she is a popular player and …. its Russia.

It comes down to age and money. She is 31-years-old and wasn’t
offered a spot on Team USA until after she had signed to play with
Russia. Also, Russia, the former Soviet Union, basically bought her.
She was offered $2 million to play for a professional team there on the
off-season here. They then fast-tracked her for citizenship which made her eligible to play on the Russian team. That’s a fine example of Capitalism coming right from the heart of Moscow.

So now I'm torn. I can accept the draw of $2 million dollars. I can see where an athlete might be willing to be open to alternate ideas in order to play in the Olympic Games.

This is a classic example of an opportunity cost.

What do you think – is Becky Hammon unpatriotic or a shrewd business person?

Basically Stacey from Hawkonomics and I have the same question for you: Is Becky Hammon a traitor or a strong woman making a decision that earns her fortune and fame?

Contributing Editor Sarah also blogs at Sarah and the Goon Squad and Draft Day Suit.