After an impressive showing in Beijing, seven-foot-two Iranian center Hamed Ehadadi caught the eye of many scouts all around the world. In a 97-82 Iranian loss to Argentina, a game that Ehadadi had 21 points and 16 rebounds in, Hamed said through an assistant coach, Mehran Hatami, “It is my dream to play in the NBA.”
Well, that comment and his notable skills during only four games in group play caused NBA commissioner David Stern and the NBA legal counsel to advise NBA teams of their rights when dealing with Iranian players.
In the letter, which was sent to all NBA teams Friday, the NBA legal counsel wrote: “It has come to our attention that representatives of Hamed Ehadadi, an Iranian basketball player, may be contacting NBA teams to discuss the possibility of signing Mr. Ehadadi to an NBA player contract. We have been advised that a federal statue prohibits a person or organization in the United States from engaging in business dealings with Iranian nationals.”
Ehadadi was asked in a press conference if any NBA teams had contacted him so far. He replied by stating that two or three NBA teams had already contacted him, including the Memphis Grizzlies.
In Iran’s four losses in Pool B of the Olympics, Ehadadi averaged 16.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. He is considered a project by many NBA teams, but recently has shown improvement with his inside game, showing more strength than in previous settings. Ehadadi also has shown that he can block shots. His most impressive attribute however, remains his height. At seven-foot-two, the young 23 year old is a project that many NBA teams would like to start working on right now.
Currently, the NBA is applying to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to get a license that would allow any NBA team to negotiate with Ehadadi. Until the NBA gets permission, no franchise is allowed to discuss anything with the HUGE Iranian.
I wonder if the NBA will investigate any of the three teams that have contacted Ehadadi already. If Major League Baseball investigated Manny’s situation after he was traded to L.A. then David Stern will certainly be looking more into this situation and the NBA teams involved. I do not believe it will result in anything substantial, but contacting an athlete who cannot be legally contacted is a violation of NBA rules.
4 replies on “No Iranians Allowed In The NBA”
This is disgusting. Why mix sports and politics. If the state department really gave a damn about right and wrong, we never should have sent our Olympic team to one of the biggest human rights violators in the world, China.
True, OJ, the whole Chinese Olympics thing is bad, but it’s understandable that we are there for the support of its people, not it’s government. That’s a different story altogether. The reason we can’t deal with the Iranians is actually a state sponsorship of terrorism thing. If it was the same situation in China, we wouldn’t have half the cheaply manufactured crap that we have today because we wouldn’t be allowed business dealings with them, either.
Without going into too much detail, I have mixed feelings about the Chinese Olympics, but you’re clearly right about massive human rights violations. If we’re going to be fair with these things, we really should be doing something about that.
Look! simple as this if the player wants to prosper in life in the path that he beleives is right, let him. The government should govern the laws of business and the right of the product, Eda. But, Eda could do something to bless this hole world. Let the guy play where ever he chooses.
[…] than two weeks ago I reported about a 7′2 Iranian who had made a big-time impression in Beijing during the Olympics. Hamed Ehadadi led the Olympics in […]