I believe that this is the first time that an Israeli Jew and a Muslim will be playing together in the NBA. Many Muslim countries refuse to participate in sporting events when Israel is involved, and have done so on numerous occasions, which is why Israel usually has to qualify for tournaments via the much more difficult European teams. Turkey is generally more liberal, but since the Mavi Marmara incident has become increasingly hostile towards Israel. Israelis used to love traveling to Turkey but have stopped going there because they no longer feel safe. Found it interesting that he formally asked for a trade since Omri was signed and has not spoken since. Most likely mad about playing time, but who knows, he did go to a pretty religious muslim school in Turkey from what I've read and there could be a lot of pressure from home. It will be interesting to see whether the Turkish fans in the video below will still cheer for Omer if he plays with Omri. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mUVczbFQIWo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
i really hate when things like this affect sports. race, religion, politics, and anything else that divides people should be kept far away from sports, which are meant to unite. this generation may not get along, generally speaking, but allowing positive things to happen in sports (like omri and omer playing together) could be a great thing for the next generation to watch as they grow up. i don't underestimate the power of sports to unite people, not after seeing how yao connected houston to china. that being said, we are probably reaching a little too far in between the lines here. omer's request probably has nothing to do with religion, unless his belief is to be a starter.
I don't think it will effect both players at all. Now if they were both Co-Superstars or something, but they're not. Besides maybe neither are too political nor religious. At any case, I hope we keep Asik for the long run.
He asked for a trade THE DAY dwight announced, we hadn't gotten Omri yet. Let's not paint Omer with the religious hate brush. Don't be ignorant, the guy just wants to start in the NBA, nothing more. OP - you might think these are innocent posts, but people who don't know better might actually listen to you. Careful careful, let's keep the dish and the GARM about basketball...
You will be surprised how much first hand influence parents have on their kids where it will affect how they see a group or culture.
Is Asik's religious faith actually Islam? Just because you're from Turkey that doesn't automatically make you a Muslim.
Asik is Muslim, but this thread is r****ded. Your laying out some dangerous claims. Your making a something out of nothing.
Successful religious people don't have a problem with each other. Only the unsuccessful ones do, if you catch my drift.
This. Seriously, this may very well be the worst thread I've ever seen on Clutchfans. OP, you answered your own question in your own post. And by the way, Turkey also participates in the European qualifiers even though the majority of the country lies in Asia. Let's see, he requested a trade after: (a) the Rockets signed a major free agent, who'll make Asik lose his starting job, and (b) the Rockets signed an Israeli bench player. Yeah, it definitely makes sense to go with (b) here. And he has not spoken since, which is surprising since Asik is usually such an outspoken, media-friendly type. My guess? They probably won't even notice he's playing with Casspi. Really, really dumb thread.
they will both share an aversion for bacon in their in-flight meals. i see them bonding well on the road trips..
I believe the OP's question has more merit than speculating about a player's sexual preferences. It is my hope that this is a non-issue, that OA's problem is strictly with the loss of a starting, and prominent, role. I understand those concerns. I have seen nothing to indicate any other avenues for discussion and hope all discussion can focus on basketball. I want a Parade!
OP that has nothing to do with it. Professional athletes have a lot of respect for each other and Basketball is their FIRST religon on the court. Its the home countries that turn everything political.
To all of you guys that are suggesting that my post is "r****ded" and that I'm making a big deal out of nothing, I ask you to please view the following articles, also please view the youtube video I posted of an entire arena in Turkey yelling "death to Israel" and trying to get at the athletes. This is not a fake issue. Omer WILL face pressure from home no matter what his personal beliefs are. I also made it clear that although the main reason that he is upset is because of playing time, I do believe that the pressure from home WILL affect him to some degree. Thanks for those who repped me, and understand that politics and sports do mesh. There may come a huge positive effect out of them playing together, but again, there will be negativity towards Omer back home. Iranian-born German refuses to play in U-21 tournament against Israel - http://www.spiegel.de/international...r-player-refuses-to-play-israel-a-510269.html Kuwait proud of Tae-Kwon Do champion for sitting out international competition so as to not face Israel - http://www.jewishpress.com/news/bre...o-refused-to-play-against-israeli/2013/02/11/ Turkish arena closed off out of fear for Israeli team - http://www.vosizneias.com/60771/2010/07/25/ankara-high-security-for-israeli-athletes-in-turkey/ Egyptian wrestler refuses to shake hands with Israeli wrestler before/after the match, bites her and breaks 2 fingers - http://www.theblaze.com/stories/201...en-by-egyptian-rival-guess-who-won-the-match/ and http://espn.go.com/olympics/wrestli...tler-suspended-allegedly-biting-israeli-rival Yemenite chess team sacked after violating country's policy of not competing against Israel - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-team-for-playing-against-israel-2087043.html Champion Tunisian fencer sits out competition in order to avoid playing against Israeli - http://mondoweiss.net/2011/10/boyco...bes-stands-down-rather-than-play-israeli.html
Dude I'm from Turkey and believe me even the most radical muslims wont get angry with Omer just because he plays with an Israeli guy on the same team. You should chill with this kind of conspiracy theories.
While I haven't seen anything to show it's a problem to Omer, it's reasonable to wonder how much pressure he gets from Turks. But, while Casspi might not have played with Muslims before (and I don't know if that's so), there is NBA precedent of players on opposite sides of the Bosnian war playing together, and plenty of examples of Israeli and Muslim amateurs playing together. I think it's really only an issue at the national-team level where international relations are involved when the politicians stick their noses in it and the animus is ginned up. I doubt any problem will arise for Omer and Omri.
omer has already played for 2 jewish owners, in a league whose key management are mostly jewish -- playing with omri is not gonna be an issue
