Chris Kaman

Kaman the German: He'll never wear a Team USA jersey via ESPN

One of the more depressing stories to come out of these Olympics that doesn't involve the apparently random stabbing death of the father of the American volleyball coach or the blatant persecution of Chinese Christians without a peep from America or the IOC.

Chris Kaman is a third-generation American, just about as American as you can get. There is absolutely no reason why he should be allowed to shop himself out to the German team. I can certainly understand the desire to compete in the Olympics, particularly since the odds of him getting to do so as a representative of America were slim to none. Having said that, how would he have felt, if somehow Germany had won the gold, as he stood on the podium bowing his head to receive the medal, the culmination of the dreams of virtually any athlete in the world, and then having to listen as the German national anthem played, and the German flag was raised to the rafters?

I would kill to have the natural athletic ability to be able to represent America in the Olympics, and if somehow I had ever ended up on the highest level of the Olympic podium, watching the Star and Stripes rising as the Star-Spangled Banner played, I would be a tearful mess. It would be the proudest moment of my life, even if it was for rhythmic gymnastics. I would be representing my country, and it would be an experience beyond description. But to voluntarily take dual-citizenship, to sell my services to a foreign country in pursuit of this goal is tantamount to treason, in my mind. What if it was not Germany to whom Kaman sold his skills? What if it was Cuba, or Venezuela, or China, or North Korea, or Iran, or any of the other nations that would be considered our enemy by many? Athletes who pursue this course in the future should be told that they are certainly willing to do so, but if they choose this path, they should be prepared to give up their American citizenship, permanently.