What We Really Think About Each Other: An American Playing in Europe and a European Playing in Europe Get Real With Each Other
Today I’m going to talk about the relationship between American players who play overseas and the local players in mostly European countries. For the most part we get along but there is an unspoken rift between us. Some of us have heard it. Some of us have felt it. But we rarely talk about it. There are misconceptions from both sides.
So I spoke to a European basketball player (who we shall keep anonymous so that she can speak freely) playing in Europe to get her thoughts on American basketball players playing in Europe and to give her my thoughts on European players playing in Europe.
JORI DAVIS: When I say “American pro athlete overseas” what pops up in your mind?
EUROPEAN: Privileged athlete. Often the coaches and managers of the teams give them more freedom than they give us. Like they’re allowed to show up to camp later, they’re allowed to practice less than us or they’re given more time off than us. They also tend to get better living conditions like houses and cars. In general they get treated better than the locals.
JD: Americans are far from home, away from their friends and family. We don’t have the option of going home for the weekend like a lot of Europeans do. So they need a nice place where they’re going to be spending a lot of their down time. I do agree that some American players are spoiled but not all. Almost all of us come from great NCAA programs where we had access to top of the line amenities. So we got used to that. I’ve also learned that Europeans complain a lot yet still settle for anything the club gives. It could be possible that we get more because we request and ask for more.
EURO: I get that but when we get on the court most European players are just as good or even better than the American players. And for us we don’t even get a chance to prove how good we are because we’re usually automatically skipped over for the American players. The American is getting paid more than us so the team feels like they have to play them because they don’t want to be spending all that money on a player who’s not playing.
JD: I don’t think that’s true in every situation. I think there are times when if a player coming in has a big name she’s treated that way but most of us come in expected to play at a very high level right away. Like if we have one bad game as a player or if the team is not playing well they usually blame the Americans while they keep supporting the local player.
EURO: I feel exactly the opposite. When an American player is not playing well the team is very supportive asking them “Are you OK? What’s wrong? What do you need?” And they’ll still start. But if we have some bad games they’ll just be like of course she’s not playing well, bench her. They try to help American players first before the European ones.
JD: OK that makes sense. But not all Americans get paid more than the European players in Europe. And because of the different rules that the leagues have limiting the number of American players you can have on a team means that there are less spots for us over here. Which makes the playing field more competitive for us. I feel Europeans that are average have long , well paid careers and the playing field isn’t very competitive.
EURO: I think we both agree that we are generalizing for the sake of this conversations because we know that not all and not every American or European players are the same or experience the same things. At one point I was one of the best players in my country. But because people always thought that one of us could never be as good as an American player I feel like I didn’t get the chances I should have received. That makes a lot of local players upset. Especially in some leagues where you can have three, four or five Americans on the team.
JD: Sometimes we don’t even get to show who we are as a person because people already have their minds made up about us just because we’re American and that’s not fair. Like a lot of things you’re bringing up are not the fault of the American players. If we’re getting treated better than the local players then that falls on management. At the end of the day that just keeps us divided as athletes.
EURO: OK but most Americans who come over here to play really don’t give a damn about the country or city they’re playing in, they don’t give a damn about their teammates, they complain about not wanting to be here, they don’t want to hang out with us or go out with us, all they want to do is get their stats and that doesn’t make us feel good as teammates.
JD: But the reason why so many Americans are about their numbers is that’s what so many of our agents and management look at. And most of the time it’s what they ask us to do, that’s why they bring us here. An American isn’t usually getting a job for the other positives she can bring to a team outside of scoring. And yeah I’ve seen American players do nothing off the court but stay in their rooms. But I’ve also been in situations where my European teammates didn’t really help me immerse in their cultures. It’s not their job but a lot of times it goes both ways. Both sides have to try but understand that for us because we’re the ones who are away the adjustment is often more difficult.
EURO: And I’ve been in situations where I have begged my American teammates to hang out, offered to take them out and treated them and in the end they still just complained and didn’t ever want to do anything. You do see differences though between the rookies and the older American players who have played overseas for a few years. The rookies of course tend to be more closed minded, cold and stand-offish than the veterans because they’ve already been through it.
JD: You’re right cause I’ve tried to do the same with some of my American teammates and they told me that they didn’t want to do anything. A lot of times we don’t know what they may be feeling or thinking. They may be depressed or homesick and don’t know how to express that. And for sure some of the American players are just like I’m here to collect a check and that’s it, nothing more. In some cases it’s hard to trust those around because you don’t know what their motives are, which at times leads to the player being distant.
JD: OK so what do you appreciate about American players playing over here?
EURO: I appreciate the Americans who are openminded and positive and share parts of their life back home with me. Like I love to hear about where they’re from, their college experience and their culture. I love hearing about how things work over there. Almost all Americans who come here say that 99% of everything back home is better like the training, facilities and treatment and that may be true, I don’t know. But you’re here now and you have to make do with what you have and not focus so much on what you had. I’m European but Americans sometimes forget that we play away from home too, like we don’t all play in our home countries. So we have to adjust and adapt too.
JD: I’m sure it can get annoying when you keep hearing from Americans that this is better and that is better in America. It’s hard for me because it feels like a lot of European players just accept things as they are instead of fighting for things to be better. And for us we know it can be better because we’ve experienced better, in some aspects. Like I don’t want things to be better just for me or for just the Americans but for all of us, including the Europeans or wherever the player may be from. For me, a win is a win for all the players.
EURO: I agree with you. I think if we communicated with each other more and tried to understand each other we would realize that it’s not on the fault of the players. We don’t have much say in how we work within the system. But like both sides have to work on that. We both have to work on being more open minded about each other. That’s the only way that things will get better for everyone.
