Filed under: Women's Sports, Beijing, Attractive Olympians
Olympic athletes often don't get paid to do anything other than look good. In that vein, Attractive Olympians handicaps which athletes may rake in endorsement deals after the Olympics.Becky Hammon just wants to be an Olympian -- so badly that she'll use her dual citizenship this summer as a member of the Russian national team, an act that has
led some to call her a traitor.
Quick history: Despite being an All-America at Colorado State, Becky Hammon was shunned at the 1999 WNBA draft. She joined the New York Liberty as a free agent, where she had an immediate impact off the bench but spent four years backing up Teresa Weatherspoon. After a breakout season in 2003, she was left off the Athens squad in 2004. In 2007, she was the runner-up in the WNBA MVP vote, yet her invitation to try out for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team was less than sincere.
Personally, if I'd been snubbed by one country that much, I might consider going where I felt appreciated, too -- her Russian club, CSKA Moscow, pays her in the seven figures, and she was a lock for the Olympic team there.
But let's take a step back from the politics involved and ask something more superficial: how does this dilemma affect her sex appeal? Will this affect her potential sponsorships? Might Americans actually cheer for a
Russian team? Is "Becky" an acceptable Russian name? None of these answers -- and more! -- after the jump.
Continue reading Attractive Olympian: Basketball Player and Alleged Traitor Becky Hammon
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