Othella Playing in Iran

[casualhoya]

Has this been mentioned here before?

Does anyone else find it odd that Harrington has decided to resume his career in the Middle East?

www.casualhoya.com/2009/12/28/1222848/othella-playing-in-iran

Casually.

[Jack]

Real weird. He played 12 years and made $24 million in the NBA. Hard to imagine ending up in Iran after that.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

i hear he loves falafels.

[hoya4ever]

So he needed a work permit? You need that in every country, I think. Nevertheless, really weird...

[SSHoya]

Not a work permit, much more serious than tghat. OFAC can impose criminal liability/civil liability under the Iranian Sanctions program (because of Iran's support for international terrorism) under Iranian Transactions Regulations and the incorporated sanctions imposed by Executive Orders 12957, 12959 and 13059 administered by US Treasury OFAC. Unless licenced by OFAC, goods, technology, or services may not be exported, reexported, sold, supplied, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by any U.S. person, wherever located, to iran or the Government of Iran. This includes brokering of services from the US, i.e., Othella's agent, if he has one.

[seaweed]

sounds very scary SS but I am guessing Othella did his homework and is not jeopardizing his freedom for this

[SSHoya]

In reality, I don't think it is anything the US Gov't would dedicate any resources to investigate in the same way that those who travel to Cuba in violation of similar regulations who spend US $$$ there aren't typically subject to investigation.

The licensing regulations focus more on the export of technology that may implicate national security concerns and Iran's pursuit of WMD.

[paranoia2]

I met and talked with Othella at a restaurant in Philadelphia when he was playing for the Knicks. I lamented that he didn't have better guards to play with his first Fr. & So. years. Othella was quick to defend his teammates and had special praise for Jean Jacques. He wasn't drunk either he was just being a good teammate.

[theexorcist]

Sorry, this gets long. I think that this topic is pretty cool.

ESPN's magazine had a really good article on this a few years ago that I regrettably can't find. With that said, you can take a look at the list of Americans who were playing at least recently and read a BBC article on it.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Basketball_Super_League

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4445030.stm

Americans do need a work permit to play in Iran, but those are granted relatively easily (Americans play well and help the Iranian national team develop). The issue, as has been mentioned, is OFAC. Consider it a "Trading With the Enemy" rule, which can fine and imprison you (if you want to get technical, the stuff on Iran is here - www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/iran/iran.shtml ). Exporting goods and services, such as playing basketball, aren't permissible without a waiver.

To be quite honest, however, OFAC has bigger fish to fry, and has recently been going after banks (they nailed Credit Suisse, who paid $536M a little more than a week ago). They could always go after the rare tourist who goes there as well as basketball players, but it's not worth the investment unless you want to send a message (under Bush 43, the regulations against travel to Cuba were enforced much more strictly than they were). You can also make an argument that Americans playing over there shows Iranians on a very low level that Americans really aren't the Great Satan and helps to undermine the Iranian regime's propaganda, and so, while keeping the embargo is the right idea, allowing some people in there isn't a bad thing.

If you get a chance, find and read the article - I think it focused on Garth Joseph, and mentioned the legal issues as well as the fact that the Iranian people were always very friendly to him (a constant emphasis in almost every article on Iran) and big basketball fans. It also mentions the tattoo controversy and the fact that there were house parties with smuggled alcohol where woman took off their veils. Fascinating.

[HeartAttackHoya]

Dec 28, 2009 22:16:11 GMT -5 HoyaSinceBirth said:

i hear he loves falafels.

not to get too technical but falafels are arabic food not iranian.

[98hoya]

Dec 29, 2009 10:34:10 GMT -5 HeartAttackHoya said:

Dec 28, 2009 22:16:11 GMT -5 HoyaSinceBirth said:

i hear he loves falafels.

not to get too technical but falafels are arabic food not iranian.

Not to correct your technical correction, but falafel is claimed by many ethnicities (including Arabs, non-Arab Muslims, Jews and other Middle Easterners) and they were invented by Copts...who are not Arab at all. The Copts didn't first make the dish with chickpeas though, credit for that goes to the Jews. I learned more than I cared to know on this topic on a trip to the Middle East a few years ago.

See: caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1525/gfc.2003.3.3.20

Cliff Clavin will now return to lurking.

[Boz]

It's a falafel throwdown!

Just the thing for the Christmas-New Year between week doldrums.

Let the fava bean/garbanzo bean debate commence!!!

;D

(Personally, I think they're gross no matter what nationality claims them).

[Hoya LNU]

Club isn't in Tehran, either - it's in Mahshahr, on the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Far different from playing in Europe...

Fan site, albeit entirely in Farsi: www.bipcclub.ir

[jgalt]

Dec 29, 2009 12:15:54 GMT -5 Hoya LNU said:

Club isn't in Tehran, either - it's in Mahshahr, on the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Far different from playing in Europe...

Fan site, albeit entirely in Farsi: www.bipcclub.ir

Let the record show that, besides the titles, the only english words on that site are "KOBE BRYANT"

[98hoya]

Dec 29, 2009 12:41:45 GMT -5 jgalt said:

Dec 29, 2009 12:15:54 GMT -5 Hoya LNU said:

Club isn't in Tehran, either - it's in Mahshahr, on the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Far different from playing in Europe...

Fan site, albeit entirely in Farsi: www.bipcclub.ir

Let the record show that, besides the titles, the only english words on that site are "KOBE BRYANT"

Let the record also show that, by visiting that site, I think you've authorized the government to investigate all of your affairs under the Patriot Act.

[HeartAttackHoya]

Dec 29, 2009 14:16:13 GMT -5 @98hoya said:

Dec 29, 2009 12:41:45 GMT -5 jgalt said:

Let the record show that, besides the titles, the only english words on that site are "KOBE BRYANT"

Let the record also show that, by visiting that site, I think you've authorized the government to investigate all of your affairs under the Patriot Act.

haha. I'm of Iranian decent. That implied authorization started September 12th 2001.

[theexorcist]

Dec 29, 2009 16:40:02 GMT -5 pash said:

Dec 29, 2009 8:59:25 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

The licensing regulations focus more on the export of technology that may implicate national security concerns and Iran's pursuit of WMD.

That is an entirely different set of regulations, the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR 730–774), promulgated under separate legal authorities and administered by another agency, the Bureau of Industry and Security.

The Iranian Transactions Regulations specifically prohibit Americans from providing services (e.g., playing basketball) in Iran without a license. (See 31 CFR §§ 560.204(a) and 410(a)(2).) And I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that Othella and all the other Americans playing in Iran don't have licenses because as a matter of policy OFAC does not grant licenses to do anything in Iran except provide humanitarian aid or report news.

Are federal agents going to arrest these guys the next time they step off the plane at JFK? Probably not, because for the most part they don't know what's going on. But you're playing a dangerous game when there are reports all over the place saying you're doing something that carries twenty years. ...

I despise the Iranian mullocracy and really hope that the people of Iran finally overthrow those thugs. And I think that Ahmedenijahd's threats of wiping Israel off the map are legit.

But I can't see busting these guys, as long as there are very few of them and they're playing basketball. I still think that it helps present the US as more complicated than what the regime portrays, which kind of makes Othella a stealth psy-ops weapon. They're still breaking the law, but the benefits of prosecution are pretty low.

[kchoya]

Dec 29, 2009 16:40:02 GMT -5 pash said:

Dec 29, 2009 8:59:25 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

The licensing regulations focus more on the export of technology that may implicate national security concerns and Iran's pursuit of WMD.

That is an entirely different set of regulations, the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR 730–774), promulgated under separate legal authorities and administered by another agency, the Bureau of Industry and Security.

The Iranian Transactions Regulations specifically prohibit Americans from providing services (e.g., playing basketball) in Iran without a license. (See 31 CFR §§ 560.204(a) and 410(a)(2).)
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Brain... slowly... melting...

[mdhoya97]

this debate has to do with the current hoya season how?....
man we are all really itch'in for big east play to start. this 8 day break is killing me.
-M

ps. i cannt stand falafels either. shwarma's on the other hand.. hmmmm... quick pita 3am mmmmm....
-M

[TBird41]

Dec 29, 2009 16:46:37 GMT -5 theexorcist said:

I still think that it helps present the US as more complicated than what the regime portrays, which kind of makes Othella a stealth psy-ops weapon.

So basically, Othella Harrington's a Double O agent?