[ColoradoTree]

Wouldn't it have been honorable if USA basketball had appealed to FIBA:  "We passed on Nneka twice (or is it 3 times?).  We think that if she were allowed to play on a team with her sisters, if Nigeria wants her, this would raise the level of basketball in Nigeria.  We support her appeal to FIBA"

Isn't that basically what Team USA basketball did? At least publicly, they'd released her and supported her attempt to play for Nigeria. Now, maybe they knew the attempt was doomed to failure so they figured they didn't lose anything by doing so. And they're obviously still the villain here in leaving her off the roster, so while they're guilty of plenty, I don't know that they're guilty of sabotaging her attempt to join the Nigerian team. 

If it were soccer, it wouldn't have even been a question--she'd have been out of luck because she'd represented the US at a senior level in official competition. (Rules have since been relaxed to allow players with three or fewer caps to seek a one-time switch to represent a different country, but she's won two world championships with Team USA.) But while FIBA seemed like it had a more relaxed standard, this still seemed like a very heavy lift. 

Agreed with fullmetal: it's hard to argue with FIBA's decision, at least as to Nneka. Really, really easy to argue with USA Basketball's decision not to bring her in the first place.

[ColoradoTree]

Wouldn't it have been honorable if USA basketball had appealed to FIBA:  "We passed on Nneka twice (or is it 3 times?).  We think that if she were allowed to play on a team with her sisters, if Nigeria wants her, this would raise the level of basketball in Nigeria.  We support her appeal to FIBA"

Isn't that basically what Team USA basketball did? At least publicly, they'd released her and supported her attempt to play for Nigeria. Now, maybe they knew the attempt was doomed to failure so they figured they didn't lose anything by doing so. And they're obviously still the villain here in leaving her off the roster, so while they're guilty of plenty, I don't know that they're guilty of sabotaging her attempt to join the Nigerian team. 

If it were soccer, it wouldn't have even been a question--she'd have been out of luck because she'd represented the US at a senior level in official competition. (Rules have since been relaxed to allow players with three or fewer caps to seek a one-time switch to represent a different country, but she's won two world championships with Team USA.) But while FIBA seemed like it had a more relaxed standard, this still seemed like a very heavy lift. 

Agreed with fullmetal: it's hard to argue with FIBA's decision, at least as to Nneka. Really, really easy to argue with USA Basketball's decision not to bring her in the first place.