Spanish Players Union reacts to Brown's naturalization: 'It's a harmful message' / News - Basketnews.com

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Following the given Spanish passport to Lorenzo Brown, the Spanish Association of Professional Basketball Players released a statement regarding this decision.

The ACL tear of Ricky Rubio and the resignation of Sergio Rodriguez from the national team have forced Sergio Scariolo and the Federation itself to look for plan B so that the sports performance of the squad does not suffer.

Therefore, they agreed to naturalize the 31-year-old American guard.

According to the Association, such action is far from helping and cannot be accepted as a new reality.

The full statement:

"The express Spanish naturalization of a player without any roots in Spain sends a very harmful message to national athletes and has a negative impact on both the present and the future. Is it credible that the current world champion team does not find Spanish players with whom to compete in the highest international level events?

The goal of any basketball player is to be able to play with the main national team one day. This legitimate hope is affected when the Spanish Basketball Federation and the Spanish Ministry of Justice favor the granting of legal but ethically reprehensible passports.

The Association has systematically denounced for many years the normalization of marriages of convenience and passports from other countries using the same system now used by the Spanish Basketball Federation and the Spanish Ministry of Justice.

This type of action is far from helping. It alienates the fan and eliminates the sporting merit that allows one to dream of playing for the national team.

It is devastating to see how each season the number of national players in the professional squads of our competitions decreases.

The Spanish player has talent and has been showing it for many years, but to develop and exploit it, he needs opportunities in his clubs and, of course, in the Spanish Federation. We resist condemning the future of many players who aspire to play for the national team in this way."

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