If Only David Stern Were President …
Peace building often begins with the smallest of steps. Everyone’s children need education; this is an interest shared globally. Everyone needs food and water and shelter. Again, a global interest.
In the US, the NBA cares. In Iran, winning the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship is a source of national pride. Common ground. The same round ball and rims with hoops. Quite possibly the same goofy socks. We run, we dunk, we swish. We just don’t do it together.
Individual players have tried. Garth Joseph joined the Saba Battery, a local Iranian basketball team, in late 2005. Oddly enough, the team is owned by Iran's Ministry of Defense – yes, that Ministry of Defense. The one the United State government accuses of covert weapons of mass destruction creation.
I don’t remember reading about this in any American papers. The BBC, however, was entranced:
Garth, hopelessly and charmingly American, told a reporter from BBC Tehran:
I hope they start relations. I was surprised to see we don't have an embassy here or an Iranian one in America; I thought what's going on.
We both have different cultures, different religions, so if we respect that we will get along very fine.
Garth joins Andre Pitts, a veteran Saba Battery player from America. Andre reports being warmly welcomed when he arrived in Iran:
Basketball is universal - so there's no colour, no race; we just bond - from day one when I came here the team just took me in and we just took off.
For us as players we don't ask someone where he is from. It's more, 'I want to beat you and you want to beat me so let's go'.
In May of 2006, CBS News interviewed Andre and casually mentioned 20 or so other Americans currently playing basketball in Iran. The unifying factor? Money. Leaving a wife and young daughter behind, CBS reports:
It was money that brought Andre and players like him to the Middle East. Before coming to Iran, he played in Syria and Lebanon. The level of play is not nearly what it is in the NBA, but the money is very good: between $4,000 and $30,000 a month.
Hamadan, a rural Iranian town, boasts two American players. When Pegah Hamadan plays Saba Battery, there are four Americans on the court. Iranian athletes also have traditional greetings. Players kiss on both cheeks while the Americans high-five each other.
U.S. arenas blast Queen’s We Will Rock You; Middle Eastern fans play drums and trumpets and shout "Ya Ali" - invoking the name of one of the twelve Shia imams - for a slam dunk.
Mahmoud Mashhoon, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran Basketball Federation, is excited about the future of Iranian Bball, noting that:
A country's basketball success is measured in different ways.
National team performances catch the eye, but so do the individual accomplishments of the players and coaches.
He has set his sights set on qualifying for the FIBA World Championship (2010) in Turkey and specifically names Hamed Ehadadi and Jaber Rouzbahani as “individuals who are going for personal glory.”
Jaber Rouzbahani took his eight-foot wingspan (he’s 7’2”) to America in 2004 in an attempt to win a spot in the NBA draft. Undeterred by his non-selection, Jaber reportedly lives in Richmond and maintains some sort of covert-mutual-admiration-society relationship with the Dallas Mavericks.
Iranians in America; Americans in Iran. Playing ball. Shootin’ hoops. Experiencing each other’s culture. On our way to Jaber’s dream of creating a positive connection between Iran and the western world.
Until a single word came between them. Sanctions. U.S. sanctions against Iran prevent any American from engaging in any transaction or providing any service to Iran or its government without a special license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Who knew? Well, I guess a whole lot of people, just not these particular basketball players.
An Iranian basketball team adviser stated:
Although everything was developing on a sound footing and cultural environment, the US players were placed under investigation without their knowledge that they were violating the sanctions regime.
According to an October 2007 BBC report:
. . . diplomats in Iran say these regulations have never been implemented before against individual sportsmen.
They point out that if the letter of the law was followed, then no American student or dual national in Iran could even give English classes for money.
The US treasury department has started contacting American basketball players who have played for Iranian teams, asking for details of their contracts, which Americans helped them go to Iran, and information about any other American players in Iran.
. . . the penalty could be up to $50,000.
Most of the Americans went home; Josh Moore began a blog titled “Eastern Hemisphere” and wrote about his experiences.
Jaber, the man who can grab the rim flat footed and dunk on his tippy-toes, who once played Yao Ming in an Asian Tournament and held him to 15 points, refuses to give up. Too many people on both sides of the world have worked hard on his behalf.
His caretaker/adviser/translator Hashim Alauddeen, who works for LeBron James’ agent Aaron Goodwin, describes the pitch he made to Jaber’s family, asking them to let him come to America:
I told them that Goodwin represents LeBron James and helped him get a 100 million dollar shoe deal from Nike, they looked at me like I was crazy. For shoes?
Jaber has come a long way measured in more than miles. Aran Smith, writing for Draftnet.com tells this story:
Growing up, Rouzbahani had heard of ‘Shaq’ but didn't know what he did.
He had a chance to meet his favorite player (Shaquille O'Neal) on a chance meeting on a trip up to Portland. As the two biggest people for miles around, the two spotted one another from across a parking lot. Shaq walked the length of the parking lot to shake the big fella’s hand. Shaq said, ‘You're the big kid from Iran right?’ When asked how he knew of Jaber, Shaq pointed to his head and said, ‘I know everything.’
Clifford Kupchan, a director at Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm, and a former State Department official; and Ray Takeyh, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote an opinion piece for the LA Times in May of last year. They put forth an argument for “threat-free diplomacy,” arguing at one point:
The National Basketball Assn. is about to crown a new champion; why not encourage NBA exchanges with basketball-crazy Iran.
Frances Harrison, writing for the BBC, said “On the streets they may shout ‘Death to America,’ but on the court they cheer for American basketball players.”
What does an individual do when neither the problem nor the solution lies with individuals?
Nice post, Carolyn. I've been wondering what happened to Gar-Jo (a former Raptors training camp invitee), and Jaber Rouzbahani is an interesting story I've never heard before.
Posted by: Jeff W | March 24, 2008 at 02:46 PM
Toronto - the gateway to Iran? Thought I had finally written a story with no Canadian connection. All roads lead to . . .
Posted by: Carolyn | March 24, 2008 at 03:29 PM
A very impressive article, Carolyn.
I work with Dot Maver at Peace Partnership International and the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace, where many people in many nations have also been noticing the peace potential of sports and wondering how we might recruit sports figures and fans in the movement for a culture of peace. Perhaps you can help us out in that arena!
I might quibble, however, with the last line of your article: "What does an individual do when neither the problem nor the solution lies with individuals?"
It DOES lie with individuals. Hence the growing power of grassroots movements such as ours. Especially true is the dictum, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." We can each one of us make peace in our own lives, and by doing so model it for others.
Yes, there are roadblocks that established culture-of-violence institutions put in the way, but that’s part of the challenge to transform those institutions to culture-of-peace institutions -- or to create new ones (like the ministries and departments of peace that we are calling for) that will work to bring about and support a culture of peace.
In peace
Mike
Posted by: Mike Abkin | March 28, 2008 at 02:18 PM