Jo Konta - the 'British' thing

[The Birdman]

Whoops Murray struggling she might be the last Brit standing.

 

[Hamilton]

She sees herself as British. Surely, that's enough.

St George was from Syria, and we seem happy to claim him as one of our own.

 

[Tooting Gull]

I think underlying a lot of the views on this is the glee with which the media leap on some recently UK-passported individual who might gain sporting success, when they spend the rest of the year unashamedly slaughtering all things 'immigration'. Watched the (brilliant) Zola Budd/Mary Decker film recently, and it was almost unbelievable how the Daily Mail used its political contacts to speed up a passport. All for the story, not for the wellbeing of the athlete who was desperately unhappy and couldn't wait to go back home, it having been all her father's doing for the money. Admittedly this was an extreme case, and not the same as Konta's situation.

 

[sydney]

i would.

 

[Gwylan]

The semantics of it all piss me off.

She isn't British.

She is ... she's a British citizen.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

All credit to footballers. All stay loyal to country of birth and travel round world representing a national team that is so often very poor

All?

Like (off the top of my head) England's Jamaica-born Raheem Sterling? Germany's Polish-born Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose? Ghana's German-born Kevin Prince Boateng? etc, etc, etc?

 

[hart's shirt]

If Jo wins, BBC Sports Personality of the Year would be next.

Were I a betting man, I'd be getting on large now...

 

[Thunder Bolt]

The semantics of it all piss me off.

She isn't British. She qualifies to represent Britain. That's two different things. Carlo Cudicini could have played for England. He had lived in London for long enough to qualify for a passport and had never played a full international for Italy. If he had played for England it wouldn't have made him English, he would still be Italian. Ashley Barnes is not Austrian, he just qualifies to play for them!

That said, I have no issue with her representing Britain. She's entitled to do so. I just get frustrated at the lack of distinction between being born of a nation and qualifying for a nation.

Many forces' kids would disagree with you. Friends of mine were in Mauritious with the Navy, their daughter was born there, but that doesn't make her Mauritian, any more than Harry Webb (Cliff) is Indian.

 

[ManOfSussex]

All credit to footballers. All stay loyal to country of birth and travel round world representing a national team that is so often very poor

Personally I'm glad Terry Butcher didn't stay loyal to Singapore.

 

[Razzoo]

One thing is for sure, Murray is Scottish again.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

All?

Like (off the top of my head) England's Jamaica-born Raheem Sterling? Germany's Polish-born Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose? Ghana's German-born Kevin Prince Boateng? etc, etc, etc?

Or London born Irish Chris Hughton.

 

[Brighton Mod]

Our own born in Belgium to and Australian father now knighted, north London boy.......... Bradley Wiggins

 

[Stat Brother]

Our own born in Belgium to and Australian father now knighted, north London boy.......... Bradley Wiggins

You seem to have omitted one key point?

 

[Tooting Gull]

If Jo wins, BBC Sports Personality of the Year would be next.

Were I a betting man, I'd be getting on large now...

I'm sure a lot of the stakeholders would love a woman winner of SPOTY, so could be a good shout. If you discount the joke win of Zara Phillips in 2006, and that was 11 years ago, not one since Kelly Holmes in 2004.

Konta is already in to about 3-1 2nd fav now, though that will go out again if she doesn't win the title. Mind you, Jermain Defoe is third fav right now over his friendship with little Bradley, so it's not a clear-cut year. AJ the odds-on favourite.

 

[Kaiser_Soze]

Many forces' kids would disagree with you. Friends of mine were in Mauritious with the Navy, their daughter was born there, but that doesn't make her Mauritian, any more than Harry Webb (Cliff) is Indian.

I take your point. I assume your friends born in Mauritius had British parents and at some point moved back here? There is a British connection and they happened to be born elsewhere.

Konta doesn't have British parents. They are Hungarian, so if the same lines are drawn, she is in fact Hungarian but was born in Australia. Like I said, I have no issue with her representing Britain but in my view, having a British passport doesn't make you British. If a woman marries into a family and takes her husbands name, she doesn't lose all that went before. Just because you take a British passport, you don't stop being whatever your nationality of origin was.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Our own born in Belgium to and Australian father now knighted, north London boy.......... Bradley Wiggins

It's okay, he's got a certificate somewhere that says he's therapeutically exempt from having his nationality called into question.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Personally I'm glad Terry Butcher didn't stay loyal to Singapore.

View attachment 87133

Indeed, a glorious era for the English national team. Can you remind me what we won during Butcher's time in an England shirt.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Indeed, a glorious era for the English national team. Can you remind me what we won during Butcher's time in an England shirt.

errrrr......The Rous Cup? Fair Play Award at Italia '90?

Glorious era as you say.

 

[The Spanish]

I don't know how 'Kenyan' you are when born to 2 ex pats living in Kenya.
I'd guess it's a matter of choice although as it comes with a British passport it's hard to imagine being 100% Kenyan.

so if someones parents were Jamaican (and retired back there) and their child was born in London, you wouldn't know how 'British' they were?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

so if someones parents were Jamaican (and retired back there) and their child was born in London, you wouldn't know how 'British' they were?

I think he'd consider that the person would be 100% entitled to consider themselves Jamaican, if THEY wished.