SkinsTillIDie Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Says he can't decide between playing for Ghana or the United States. Also says he definately plans on playing overseas, and wants to play as soon as he is eligible. When asked if he wants to play as soon as next season, he said "yeah". Just an FYI for our soccer folk here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 i hope he does play overseas. that's what makes our good players good enough to field a comptetitive team. mls should be a spring board to overseas play, not a spring board to the national team. i hope adu plays for the us when he's ready, though. :fingerx: ps. i also hope adu doesn't get bashed for considering playing for ghana, especially those that root for italy and others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herrmag Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 If he plays for Ghana, I would be really disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I saw it myself. The gutless punk refused to indicate whether he'd play for the US or Ghana National Team given a pick between the two. At which point 2 members of the US Immigration department should have walked onto the set and deported the thankless punk after revoking his citizenship. The only thing of any value that he brought to the US was the ability to kick a ball. We gave him citizenship. He better figure out where his bread is buttered PDQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I saw it myself. The gutless punk refused to indicate whether he'd play for the US or Ghana National Team given a pick between the two. At which point 2 members of the US Immigration department should have walked onto the set and deported the thankless punk after revoking his citizenship. The only thing of any value that he brought to the US was the ability to kick a ball. We gave him citizenship. He better figure out where his bread is buttered PDQ. He also makes a lot of money for DC United and the American businessmen associated with it ... giving him a green card was a quid pro quo - he got to come to the United States and we got the cash. This is no different than Dirk playing for Germany, Ichiro playing for Japan, or Gretzy playing for Canada. Professional sports would be pretty bad if we deported everyone that played for another national team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 He also makes a lot of money for DC United and the American businessmen associated with it ... giving him a green card was a quid pro quo - he got to come to the United States and we got the cash. Which is something I don't agree with in the least. Citizenship is a privledge for those who put this country first in their heart, mind, and life so far as I am concerned. This is no different than Dirk playing for Germany, Ichiro playing for Japan, or Gretzy playing for Canada. Professional sports would be pretty bad if we deported everyone that played for another national team. I don't believe any of the three players you mention are AMERICAN CITIZENS. I believe they have retained citizenship in their home countries. Adu is an AMERICAN CITIZEN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckus Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 He also makes a lot of money for DC United and the American businessmen associated with it ... giving him a green card was a quid pro quo - he got to come to the United States and we got the cash.This is no different than Dirk playing for Germany, Ichiro playing for Japan, or Gretzy playing for Canada. Professional sports would be pretty bad if we deported everyone that played for another national team. I thought Freddy Adu become a US citizen, or does he just have a green card? I am not sure what he has. Are Dirk, Ichiro or Gretzy US citizens. I think it is different if you come here and play a sport, or if you come here and become a citizen. If he is a citizen he needs to play for the US - period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTillIDie Posted June 22, 2006 Author Share Posted June 22, 2006 Also bear in mind that he has played for the US at various Under-20 levels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Also bear in mind that he has played for the US at various Under-20 levels That's great. However, the moment he even stops to consider an offer to play for the Ghanan team, he should be on the first slow boat back there, so far as I am concerned. He's an American citizen (by his own admission). If he doesn't want to represent the US, then he shouldn't be a citizen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Which is something I don't agree with in the least. Citizenship is a privledge for those who put this country first in their heart, mind, and life so far as I am concerned.I don't believe any of the three players you mention are AMERICAN CITIZENS. I believe they have retained citizenship in their home countries. Adu is an AMERICAN CITIZEN. I actually didn't know that Adu was a citizen ... well I guess I had heard about it, but it never really registered.FIFA has relatively lax rules about this, while the Olympics are very strict. I think he would have to play on our Olympic team, but he could choose to play for Ghana for the World Cup. There may not really be analogous situations to the World Cup, because the World Cup is really the only competition of its kind, but in the World Baseball Classic there were certainly a huge number of players switching teams. A lot of naturalized citizens played for Latin American teams (and A-Rod even considered it). Mike Piazza even played for Italy. I think when the citizenship exam is concerned with loyalty, it's more worried about military conflict than athletic competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I think when the citizenship exam is concerned with loyalty, it's more worried about military conflict than athletic competition. I don't actually see any difference between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTikiITrust Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I wouldn't even want to play for the US in the World Cup...I'd want to advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I don't believe any of the three players you mention are AMERICAN CITIZENS. I believe they have retained citizenship in their home countries. Adu is an AMERICAN CITIZEN. What....are they here on work visas??? :laugh: Of course they are citizens...possibly they were granted dual citizenship...but in order to make the kind of money they do and work here, they've got to be citizens. Unless there is some sort of loophole I'm not aware of. :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 What....are they here on work visas??? :laugh: Of course they are citizens...possibly they were granted dual citizenship...but in order to make the kind of money they do and work here, they've got to be citizens. Unless there is some sort of loophole I'm not aware of. :whoknows: I would guess that most of those foreign born players ARE here on work visas. I know that MLB has issues every year getting players into spring training on time because of Visa issues. Personally, I don't believe the US should offer "dual citizenship". No person can hold a proper allegiance to the United States as a citizen if they have ANY attachment to a foreign power. Whether that power is Israel, Ghana, Cuba, etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 jrockster, They have separate Visa categories for professional athletes (O and P). I'm sure once they've been here for some time, they can also choose to get a Green Card if they want to stay in America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 What....are they here on work visas??? :laugh: Of course they are citizens...possibly they were granted dual citizenship...but in order to make the kind of money they do and work here, they've got to be citizens. Unless there is some sort of loophole I'm not aware of. :whoknows:It's actually a good question. I think there's a good chance that Dirk and Ichiro just have O visas, although they may have green cards by now. Gretzky must have a green card by now, and he married an American, so it's possible he has some sort of dual citizenship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Evidente Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 He is just caught up in all the World Cup excitement that is surrounding Ghana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 jrock, I don't see why you assume they are citizens. Citizenship takes at least 5 years legal residency (or 3 if your spouse is an American citizen). Working with USCIS is such a pain... they lose everything and get back to you in 6 months... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Yeah, but isn't there some sort of limit to how much money a non-citizen can make? I thought there was a ceiling of sorts... -James Van DerBeek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I'm not sure... but I do know they let Celine Dion work in Vegas and she doesn't get hassled... what about foreign actors like Tom Cruise? - James Van DerSluut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I'm not sure... but I do know they let Celine Dion work in Vegas and she doesn't get hassled... what about foreign actors like Tom Cruise? - James Van DerSluut I have no idea....I guess it just boils down to the fact that rich people can pretty much do whatever they wanted. If the Mexicans streaming across the border were all millionaires, I don't think anyone would be raising a fuss about them...:laugh: -Clinton Portis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancalagon the Black Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Yeah, but isn't there some sort of limit to how much money a non-citizen can make? I thought there was a ceiling of sorts... Nope. You think Yao Ming is a US citizen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Yeah, but isn't there some sort of limit to how much money a non-citizen can make? I thought there was a ceiling of sorts...-James Van DerBeek we're not commies jrock - anyone can make all the money they want regardless of citizenship status. A huge number of highly-paid people aren't Americans. As Fergasun points out, there are a lot of actors that aren't American - Sean Connery, Russell Crowe, Charlize Theron, Keira Knightley, etc. Also, we've got plenty of Toyota, Honda, and Daimler-Chrylser executives around the U.S. who aren't necessarily citizens.I don't think our economy would be doing that well if we told all non-citizens that we were going to take their money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Our low tax rate probably attracts high rollers from other places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinned Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Dirk plays for Germany in all the international basketball tourneys. Gretzky played and coahed (I believe) the Canadian team at the Hockey World Championships. Ichiro played for Japan in the WBC as well. These guys did not give up their citizenships to their native lands, although it would be interesting to see if there are limits on what foreigners can earn here in the States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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