Blatt is no traitor

Basketball Betting Lines

09/10/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It might never be described as America's pastime but basketball has always been America's game.

Sure, baseball and football are immensely popular in the United States, and Abner Doubleday's game can also brag about its huge following in Latin America and Japan, but much of the rest of the world has no interest in either of those sports.

Basketball, like soccer, transcends race, gender and culture. It simply translates better and is an easy-to-understand game that has been embraced by most.

And we (the United States) have always been the best at basketball. That's why people who don't care about the NBA or college hoops still feel something when Team USA loses in international competition.

The most heartbreaking loss in USA Basketball history was the 1972 Gold Medal game at the Munich Olympics, where seemingly corrupt officials gave Russia three chances to make a winning shot in the closing seconds. The third time was a charm and the Russians stole a 51-50 victory, marking the first time Team USA lost since the sport began Olympic play in 1936.

One referee, Renato Righetto, refused to sign the official scoring sheet after that game in an act of protest, and the U.S. immediately filed a protest of its own, which was heard by FIBA's five-member jury of appeal.

In a 3-2 decision divided along Cold War lines (Puerto Rico and Italy voted to uphold the appeal, while Hungary, Cuba and Poland voted to reject it), the jury voted down the protest and awarded the gold medals to the Soviet team. The U.S. was so incensed that its players refused to claim their silver medals.

Like a lot of people at the time, a teenager in Massachusetts who loved America's game wept. That young man was David Blatt, the current Russian national coach who is a dual American-Israeli citizen.

However, Blatt, who went on to become one of Europe's most successful coaches, winning titles in Italy, Israel and Russia, has a new outlook these days after watching a slanted documentary on the final minutes of the '72 game.

"If there's anything that living in Europe the past 30 years has taught me, it's to try to view issues like this from all sides, and form an opinion based on facts and perspective and impartiality -- even if it isn't popular or goes against the tide," Blatt told YAHOO! Sports. "That's the only way we can make any progress in life."

The current U.S. coach, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, had a different take.

"He's Russian," Krzyzewski said before the U.S. and Russia met in the quarterfinals of the FIBA world championships on Thursday. "He coaches the Russian team. So he probably has that viewpoint. His eyes are clearer now because there are no tears in them."

Perhaps Krzyzewski was just trying to motivate a young team that probably doesn't understand the history of the Cold War or the once-heated USA-Russia rivalry. Or maybe he truly believes Blatt has turned against his country and is being unjust to the '72 team.

After all, the Russian coach is wrong. Any objective observer watching the closing minutes of the '72 game can't help but be embarrassed for the Russians for accepting their medals, along with FIBA and the International Olympic Committee for not correcting a decision that Righetto called "completely irregular, and outside the rules of the game of basketball."

And understand Krzyzewski has close ties to at least a couple of people involved with the '72 team. One of his assistant coaches at Duke, Chris Collins, is the son of Doug Collins, the current head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers and a star of the '72 team, while Mike Bantom, another member of the wronged club, travels with Team USA.

Either way, Krzyzewski got the last laugh on Thursday as his U.S. team outlasted a plucky Russian squad, 89-79, and secured a date with Lithuania in the semifinals.

"I don't know how much gamesmanship I practiced," Blatt said after the loss. "But it looks like the [USA] coach jumped on it and used it pretty good. His guys were awfully motivated and so was he."

Krzyzewski was far more tempered after earning the win and even lauded Blatt.

"I'd like to congratulate the Russian team for playing such a terrific game," Krzyzewski said after securing the win. "Coach Blatt has had an amazing career in coaching in Russia and the way his team played is an example of the high quality of coaching that he gives his players. We knew it would be a very difficult game and it was.

"I thought we were ready and we played hard. It's just that Russia played with great passion and they played very well. It was a very well-earned win against a terrific team with a terrific coach."

With the anniversary of September 11 approaching, patriotism - or a lack thereof - has been in the news a lot recently.

Blatt clearly stopped wearing his Red, White and Blue lenses sometime over the past 30 years but labeling him as a traitor, which some have done, is a bit harsh. He may have left the United States in the rear-view mirror but in doing so, Blatt brought one of America's greatest exports to thousands of people overseas.