Tough Choices

Becky Hammon - your typical brown-eyed All-American girl - is the point guard for the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA. A native of Rapid City, South Dakota, she grew up dreaming of representing her country in the Olympics. However, USA Basketball apparently had little interest in having her on the 2008 team that will compete for the gold in Beijing. So she decided to go another route - accepting an offer from the Russian national team to represent their country in the Olympics. She became a naturalized Russian citizen and will be competing against her home country later this summer.

Of course, she is being called a traitor and other unflattering names for this decision, although I've also heard plenty of others offering support. It's not as if she's a marginal player just hoping that she might get picked - she was first team All-WNBA last year and finished 2nd in league MVP voting. Yet Team USA didn't even have her on the list of potential invitees to the tryouts. She's 31 years old and this Olympics is probably her last chance to fulfill her dream.

Hammon has been faced with beating the odds before. She wasn't recruited heavily out of high school by major college programs, yet wound up becoming an All-American and leading Colorado State (not exactly a basketball powerhouse) to a 33-3 record her senior season. She was undrafted by the WNBA, but gradually carved out a successful professional career as one of the best players in the league. She has already accomplished a lot in her career despite having others doubt her abilities. And so it looks like she has to prove herself again this summer.

I don't think her decision was unpatriotic. After all, the Olympics is more about individuals these days. The Cold War has been over for two decades. Besides, what is patriotic? Is it taking steroids in order to win gold and then lying about it? Is it hiring someone to take a club to your top opponent's knee? Is it draping a flag over the Reebok logo on your warmup suit because Nike is the company that butters your bread?

A similar decision was made by Kirby Heyborne, the LDS actor. He gained popularity among Mormon audiences with his performances in "The Singles Ward", "The RM", "Sons of Provo", "Saints and Soldiers" and other films. I've often made fun of the fact that there doesn't seem to be an LDS-themed film that Kirby hasn't appeared in.

However, the writers' strike made things a little tight for everyone, and Kirby is currently appearing in a Miller Lite commercial. Of course there are Mormons out there who are "disappointed" that Kirby "sold out." I think that the only thing that would be more surprising than seeing Kirby in a beer ad would be if there weren't members of the church ready and willing to criticize him for it. He has commented on his decision and maintains he is a worthy church member and that the job opportunity was a blessing from God.

My position is that if he felt that he needed to do the commercial in order to provide for his family, then it's not anyone else's place to second guess him. I'm not saying I'd choose the same if I was in his situation or that I wouldn't - I don't know, because I've never had to try and make a living as an actor. I've seen the ad and it is a bit unsettling to see Brother Heyborne in the role. But he's playing a character. It's not as if he's all, "Hi, I'm Kirby Heyborne, and there's nothing I enjoy more after a hard day on the set than a cool, refreshing Miller Lite."

I'm certain that neither of these individuals took their decisions lightly. In a perfect world, we would be cheering for Becky wearing the red, white, and blue, and then when the game goes to commercial, we would see Kirby selling Sunny D. I know people are going to have differing opinions on whether what they chose to do is right or wrong. But I admire them for doing something unconventional in order to get what they want out of life.