For every American-born athlete like Chris Kaman and Becky Hammon, who are playing for Germany and Russia, there are Olympians like Steffen Peters and Nastia Liukin competing for the Stars and Stripes.
Peters (equestrian) was born in Germany and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1992. Liukin (gymnastics) was born in Moscow to two former Soviet champion gymnasts.
Khatuna Lorig (archery) was originally from the Republic of Georgia (as in former Soviet state Georgia, not Peach State Georgia) and gained her U.S. citizenship last year.
Freddy Adu (men's soccer) was born in Tema, Ghana and emigrated to Potomac, Md., in 1997 after his parents won an immigration lottery.
Howard Bach (badminton) was born in Vietnam in 1979 and moved to the U.S. at age 3.
Giuseppe Lanzone (rowing) grew up in the "five block by 10 block" town of La Punta in Peru. His family moved to the U.S. in 1997 and he became a citizen in 2006.
So are these athletes traitors? Hardly.
To me, these aren't the stories of traitors, but of Americans with an overseas heritage.
And yes, these athletes do represent me.
