Tuesday, July 3, 2012

FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY:  Remember four years ago when I went apoplectic over an American woman's mercenary decision to suit up for the Russians in Olympic basketball after she didn't make the cut to play for Team USA?  Because Sudanese-born Chicago Bull Luol Deng's reasons for suiting up for Great Britain's Olympic basketball team are the opposite of that:
"What people don't understand," [Deng] said [in May] with a tinge of irritation in his voice, "when we were in Egypt, we were refugees. My family and I were homeless. For five years, out of all of the countries in the world that my father was contacting, the only one that took us in was England. So how do I not participate [in the Olympics]? If I don't play for them, knowing that I had the opportunity to, explain to me, how am I supposed to live with that for the rest of my life?"
Also suiting up for the Union Jacks: former Bull Ben Gordon (born in London), Tottenham-born GWU star (and NBA vagabond) Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and ... oh, never mind: Ben Gordon's out. Yikes.

4 comments:

  1. Marsha10:16 AM

    Thanks for pointing out this story. I like starting the day by reading about someone with principles I can respect.

    Adam, your link to apoplexy goes to the ESPN story instead.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meghan10:40 AM

    I don't understand why Gordon's getting traded to Charlotte precludes playing in the Olympics.  Surely he can have someone work on the logistics of moving for him.  I somehow doubt he was wrapping his own glasses in newspaper.  What am I missing?

    Neat story on Deng.  I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jordan11:14 AM

    Sounds like they're just a John Amaechi comeback away from almost having enough guys to field a team.  But that's a great story with Deng.

    ReplyDelete