Deseret News | Russia's little hero: Ex-Cougar is invited to join Russia's Olympic camp

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Russia's little hero: Ex-Cougar is invited to join Russia's Olympic camp

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Clueless Ewets | 9:26 a.m. July 2, 2008

Yeah, you Ewet fans are all class acts. Tyler Kepkay is playing for Canada and I know all the BYU fans called him a traitor and ridiculed him...NOT

You ewets are just trying to justify your classless comments. Bottom line, regardless of who you're a fan of, what Travis and his wife are doing with the orphans is beyond petty sports. Whether you're a BYU fan or Ewet fan, you'd have to agree that Travis and is wife are doing something very special in helping these orphans.

And, to all you classless Ewets, it's 9:36...just a little bit longer until Trails opens up.

Rick Schow | 9:38 a.m. July 2, 2008

Travis is my favorite Cougar hoop star of the last decade or two. He reminds me of a man named Ammon who was a missionary to the "enemy" for fourteen years telling King Lamoni "I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die". He turned down the King's offer of his daughter for a wife saying "nay, but I will be thy servant". The Hansen's are doing something wonderful which they enjoy with a passion all the while serving those in need in Russia. Was Ammon a traitor? Are the Hansens traitors? The very thought of such is utterly ridiculous. Ammon was the instrument leading to the conversion of huge numbers of Lamanites. Could it be that the Hansens will do something remotely similar? We can only hope.

BRT | 9:44 a.m. July 2, 2008

Contrary to some opinions posted here, Travis could have made any number of NBA rosters - he did make the Hawk's. There were other NBA teams interested in his services, but he would not have been starting, and better money was being offered overseas. So, he did what many other savy players have done. He went where he would actually get to play instead of spending most of his time on a bench, and got paid more to do it. Nothing shameful about that.

Even the last man on an NBA bench is one heck of a ball player, but development happens faster when they get actual game experience other than garbage time. And if he is satisfied with the stability of being a vital part of the team there, vs the uncertainty of being a seasonal bit player here, I will not begrudge it him.

I don't understand why some have to go out of their way to trash another for doing nothing more than pursuing a career, providing for a family, and trying to make the world a little better place in the process. Have they done as much?

Comments continue below

Texas Cougar | 9:44 a.m. July 2, 2008

I remember watching Travis play. He was very good, but he always seemed a little too arrogant. Maybe playing ball in Russia has done a lot for him. Or, maybe I misjudged him the whole time. Good work in Russia, Travis! Good luck in the Olympics

ER in AF | 10:02 a.m. July 2, 2008

I have sat in several orphanages here in Africa where I live. We asked the boys at one what they wanted for Christmas last year and they said they wanted meat. Meat. One to two times a year is all they get. I love the Cougars, went to the U and have been to many orphanages in Asia as well. I don't care it Travis plays for the Russians; I am just glad he has an opportunity to see orphans and have the stones to do something about it. The article does great service if it causes anyone to do more for someone outside their sphere of family and freinds.

Not Right | 10:20 a.m. July 2, 2008

This is a form a treason and he should go to Prison for a long time.

Re:Clueless | 10:22 a.m. July 2, 2008

Tyler Kepkay was born and raised in Canada so your argument is pointless. That's like saying Mehmet Okur should play for the U.S., despite the fact that he grew up in Turkey.

Clueless Kewgers | 10:27 a.m. July 2, 2008

BYU fans how in any way is this similar to Tyler Kepkay playing for Canada? Are you really going to try to make that argument? Please read about Kepkay before embarassing yourself. KEPKAY IS FROM CANADA, OF COURSE HE'LL PLAY FOR CANADA. HANSEN IS FROM THE USA, IF HE CAN'T MAKE THE USA TEAM THEN TOUGH LUCK....

Mike | 10:29 a.m. July 2, 2008

I don't see anyone complaining about Kosta Koufos trying to represent the Greek team when he is a US citizen, born and raised in the Midwest. Just cause he has a Greek name and comes from Greek ancestry it is somehow a different animal. Would people be less likely to complain about Travis if his hame were Boris?

steve | 10:30 a.m. July 2, 2008

Travis is certainly doing better things than the guys who leave school early to make big bucks, with no thought about anything but self. He is a good role model. If Steve Trumbo could become a Spainard to play for the national team from Spain, then Travis is also doing a smart thing. Go Russians!

Aggie Fan | 10:48 a.m. July 2, 2008

Great story on Travis Hansen. Great guy. Stories like this prove there are more important things than sports and winning.

This is not treason. And it's silly that you would even mention that. Its only a game of basketball not war. I think someone needs to read up on what treason really is.

David in Texas | 10:53 a.m. July 2, 2008

I just want to add my congratulations to the Hansens. Would that we all took to heart that all people are our neighbors. I always cry a little when I hear of children being abused or mistreated. I would love to be in a position to let me light shine as Travis and his wife are doing. The Olympics is about athletes, not nations. We cheer for the best, no matter where they are from. We sometimes feel sad for those whose dreams are dashed with a loss. We are brothers and sisters. God loves us all and put us here to love one another.

And yes go cougars, I am a red, white and BLUE cougar living in a foreign state.

Sallay | 11:18 a.m. July 2, 2008

I served a mission with Travis Hansen and can attest that he is a standup guy. Glad to hear he is still, at heart, doing it for the children.

Dumbest comment ever!! | 11:18 a.m. July 2, 2008

David in Texas gets the award for the dumbest comment ever "The olympics is about athletes, not nations"

....hmmmm.....??????....I'll remember that when I'm watching the opening ceremonies. I'll be confused why there are so many flags.

Matthew L. Bowen | 11:20 a.m. July 2, 2008

Travis and LaRee Hansen are Christians and patriots in the truest sense of those words. A patriot is one who loves the "patris"(Greek, "fatherland," "home country"). Our true "patris," as Hebrews 11:13-16 informs us, is not America but heaven itself.

I am sure I'm not the only one who is sick of the abuses of so-called "patriotism" used to bash everything that isn't gun-totin', flag-wavin', "commie"-cussin', Arab-bashing inanity.

Care for the widow and the orphan is one of the oldest and most important of all biblical mandates (cf. Isaiah 1:17,23; 10:2; Psalm 68:5; Deuteronomy 10:18, 27:19; James 1:27, etc.)

Life is short. We are indeed "strangers and pilgrims" on earth. We ought to realize this and follow Travis and LaRee's good example.

juniper | 11:38 a.m. July 2, 2008

Wow- Congrats. I served a mission in Russia 14 yrs ago and went to many orphanages. I truly appreciate the efforts of this couple. They could have chosen to do nothing....too bad many of you are so critical and short-sighted. It is nice to see someone who is trying to make a difference in the lives of some who are too young to help themselves or that they were unwanted and given up. Volunteering is a great way to make friends and shrink borders. Frankly, I don't care which team he plays ball for. I'm just not that interested in the olympics- but I am glad that these Americans are sharing one of the many great things about our country- VOLUNTEERS and serving others. It is great to have some Americans shown in a positive light abroad. I say - "Mala Dietz" Well Done!

Heart Break | 11:45 a.m. July 2, 2008

It breaks my heart to hear about all those poor children without human contact. I am a Sociology Major and have studied the affects of children who don't get the required amount of human interaction. Most are considered mentally handicap. I really hope that the foundation can employ more nurses to interact with the children.

Travis | 12:23 p.m. July 2, 2008

Travis Hansen is making more in Russia as a started and getting plenty of playing time over some players in the NBA who are collecting checks at the end of the bench.
Hansen has a big salary, lower taxes, and is provided a house, two cars with drivers and a cook, plus first-class airline tickets for family to visit him there, or for his wife to come home. The money and benefits are alluring.
Some fans that hate BYU and the church are hyper critical of someone who has been successful at a sport he loves. Travis is a class act all the way around for both his athletic ability and his willingness to give time and money back to his Russian community. Some fans will do anything to disparage or besmirch the achievements of others to make themselves feel better about their own inadequacies!
Good Luck Travis I will be cheering for you in the Olympics if you are fortunate enough to make the team!

Mike R. | 12:45 p.m. July 2, 2008

While the Russian team is playing the USA team, Travis ought to be talking to Kobe, Labron and the other rich basketball players into using some of their zillions to contribute to his foundation. That would be a great thing.

Go Travis.

To all you others pffffhhhht!!!!

Anonymous | 12:46 p.m. July 2, 2008

Hopefully Travis will make the Russian team, then NBC can make one of their sappy yet inspirational documentaries about what he and his wife are doing, more publicity will come to help the orphanage, and things can get a little better all over.

He should stay | 1:00 p.m. July 2, 2008

Thats right. If he plays for Russia he should get his citizenship in Russia and STAY in Russia...Period. A lot of us Patriots will not want him here in America.

Aggie Dude | 1:05 p.m. July 2, 2008

Great work man. I hope we see you in the Olympics.

Representing | 1:10 p.m. July 2, 2008

Mr. and Mrs. Hansen,
Thank you for representing the human race as fine humanitarians. It's a bold step to spend your time and money helping children in need of love. May God bless and protect you for your efforts. I wish more people were so thoughtful.

Nate | 1:22 p.m. July 2, 2008

First of all, thank you for helping those little human beings, making a life-lasting difference in their lives. People are so self-centered, they often only care about their own well-being, driven for desire for more, and they lose any compasion toward the others. That's true for so many russians now days - many of whom made quick fortunes and instead of helping their less fortunate compatriots, they throw money left and right for the sake of their vanity and insatiable gluttony.
Secondly, some Americans have double standards - they welcome dirty traitors and low life from other countries, yet when an american wants to realize his dreams which his own country cannot afford him, and pursues opportunity abroad, they pour buckets of dirt on his head and call him tacky, traitor, not patriotic, etc. The land of opportunity is not exclusive to America - it's where you can make your dreams come true and where you could pursue your passions - be that basketball, helping children, or just living in less regulated, more open society that welcomes you.

PP | 1:22 p.m. July 2, 2008

---Thats right. If he plays for Russia he should get his citizenship in Russia and STAY in Russia...Period. A lot of us Patriots will not want him here in America.---

Yah your right, what a low life. All those athletes that play in europe and other places are all traitors. What scum bags. On the other hand athletes like David Beckham, Greg Norman, Stephie Graff or Mike Weir are heroes because they are living in the bright center of the universe and have seen the error of their wicked foreign ways.

Please, be proud of your country but stay behind your tree.

Good Man | 1:32 p.m. July 2, 2008

My nephew served his mission in Moscow and ran into Travis and his wife in the English ward many times. He said Travis is a good man and a great ambassador for both the LDS Church and the US.

Wonderful job Travis!

Class act | 1:31 p.m. July 2, 2008

Travis Hansen is a class act and it's too bad there are comments posted here from obvious BYU haters and others who are full of paranoid patriotism. To have another country like what you're doing so much that they adopt you as a citizen is an honor. The paranoid patriots are most likely the same ones who hate people that don't drive the same brand of pickup truck as they do, among other things.

Anonymous | 1:41 p.m. July 2, 2008

Travis is a class act and a very good basketball player. We were in their ward in Georgia and he served in YM with me and it was great to have him talk to them about living the gospel and what it was like to play against the Lakers the night before. He WAS an NBA player and they CHOSE to go the Europe because he got paid more and they felt it was the right thing to do. He could make any NBA team here in the states! Thanks for being such a great example Travis! Sincerely,
Jason Campbell PS-Don't be surprised if the US loses again because hype doesn't win games.

Anonymous | 1:43 p.m. July 2, 2008

Can't wait until Kobe, Lebron, D-Wade, D-Will, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul all school Travis. GO USA!!!!

Anonymous | 1:56 p.m. July 2, 2008

We do the same thing here in the US. Many of the athletes in the Olympics train in the US. We even have many naturalized citizens compete on our teams. Turn-about is fair play. Many people would be honored just to compete in the olympics.

Anonymous | 2:03 p.m. July 2, 2008

Post are stupid...always negative whether it's the Trib, DNews or any other site. Posts do nothing but destroy. I wish you'd get rid of them.

LOOOOOOSERS!!!!! | 2:32 p.m. July 2, 2008

Some of you nay-saying idiots should take a few minutes in between fill-ups and think before you write.

Anonymous | 2:36 p.m. July 2, 2008

Anti-American? Seems like it

The Red Army | 2:59 p.m. July 2, 2008

Travis Hansen is a humanitarian, what he's done for Russia is awesome, however he is an American and Russia should have a Russian represent their country in the Olympics, not an American that isn't Russian at all. And enough with the bible versus and such, this isn't a religious debate. I wish him luck playing for Dynamo or whatever, but I hope Carmelo, Dwill, Lebron, Kobe etc. dunk on your head.

double standard | 2:59 p.m. July 2, 2008

Interesting ï¿½ thereï¿½s not a single comment posted in the article about a Sudanese born man who spent 10 years in a Kenyan refugee camp before coming to the US at age 16. Heï¿½s now trying out for the US Olympic Team. If he makes it, will we demand that he reject the offer and return to Sudan?

The article is on todayï¿½s sports page on the Des News website. Itï¿½s titled ï¿½War refugee has a shot at Olympic dreamï¿½.

Travis.....LOOOSER!!!! | 3:19 p.m. July 2, 2008

This is coming from a BYU fan....what is Travis thinking? Do your thing in Russia, but don't play ball for the Russians....please.

double standard | 3:35 p.m. July 2, 2008

Here's another double standard. It's from a June 15 article on the nytimes website -

Here's a quote from it:
"Marching into Beijing Stadium under the American flag this August will be a kayaker from Poland, table tennis players from China, a triathlete from New Zealand, a world-champion distance runner from Kenya and a gold-medal-winning equestrian from Australia."

Article's titled "swapping passports in pursuit of olympic medals"

It says that since 1992, 38 foreign born athletes have competed on the US Olympic teams.

It seems that the US is probably the one who started all this. And some people think it's all about nationalist pride - according to our own standards it seems it's more about the sport...

Cats are Clueless | 3:35 p.m. July 2, 2008

The humanitarian efforts are commendable. However, Travis has dual citizenship and can play for the US if he was any good which he is not, or he can play for Russia, which is sub-par.

One think that most of the people do not recognize on this post is that sooner or later you have to make a decision as to who you are as a person and, in Travis' case, who you are as an athlete. With this decision comes the understanding of what and who you represent.

Travis is LDS, thus he represents the Mormon faith. He is also an American born Russian, thus let him play basketball as a Russian, but strip him of his US citizenship. Having dual citizenships makes no sense to me; just like having two faiths. Can one be a Mormon-Baptist, or a Catholic-Protestant, or even a Jew-Muslim?

Okay, I'm wrong | 3:39 p.m. July 2, 2008

Look, Travis, play as hard as you can for that country. You have 250,000 kids cheering for you, kids that you can bring a smile to their face. I spent my mission in Lithuania and saw similar circumstances, it broke my hear every p-day to see these kids. I tried to do things everytime I went to see them to make them smile. What you are doing is awesome, keep it up. I take back my previous Ute-slanted comments. Please forgive my failure to recognize something I learned years ago.

GO Travis, make those kids smile.

GO UTES!!

Clay | 3:46 p.m. July 2, 2008

Extraordinary story . . . its nice to see a Cougar who whole- heartedly "entered to learn" and then "went forth to serve the world" in peace . . . even the people and children he loves. This is Nobel prize behavior . . .regardless of the sometimes warped world views and provincial opinions . . . hes cutting through politics and perceptions, and making a real difference by indirectly and symbolically representing all the children of the world that are nearly hopeless (including those impoverished children in our own country).

re: Texas Cougar | 3:56 p.m. July 2, 2008

"I remember watching Travis play. He was very good, but he always seemed a little too arrogant." Apparently you were wrong.

Ah, Patriotism | 3:59 p.m. July 2, 2008

Responsible for millions upon millions upon millions of deaths. Ranks right up there with racism and disease.

Rich | 4:12 p.m. July 2, 2008

Thanks for the good story, and congratulations to Travis for doing good where he saw a need. Travis is a credit to America, Utah, BYU and the LDS Church. If all of us would take the time and effort to help their fellow man, the world would be a much better place. Those who would criticize such a fine human being as Travis Hansen probably wouldn't part with a red cent to help an orphan in Russia or anywhere else for that matter.

Marcofp | 4:22 p.m. July 2, 2008

Great article.
Great work being done, downright good human beings.
I for one appreciate all that Travis & Laree have done for the Russians.
Best of luck to him on the Olympics, should be fun to see an American playing against an American in an Olympic game. I'm betting there will be no mercy shown.

LOL Treason??? | 4:32 p.m. July 2, 2008

If those born in the US had to take a citizenship test like naturalized citizens do, some of you would fail miserably. I'm not going to get into the Cougars vs. Utes debate, nor am I going to accuse anyone of being anti-Mormon. But I will say that anyone who thinks it's treason to play for another country's Olympic team is uninformed and narrow-minded. Every single one of you who criticize Travis for what he is doing better make a pretty long list of other athletes who deserve similar criticism, who up until now have probably gone unnoticed by you. The fact that it happens to be Russia at the center of this issue suggests that much of the criticism is based on old commie-hatred, which one would have hoped not to see in this day and age.

Two other things come to mind: 1. Loyalty to country is great, but in the heart of every true Christian it takes second billing to loyalty to God; and 2. for some reason I keep thinking about biblical verses about a mote and a beam.

andrei | 4:37 p.m. July 2, 2008

Dear Travis,

Everything you are doing is great. Just remember, I am the king of Russian basketball. Not you.

Love,
Andrei Kirilenko

RE: Ah, Partriotism | 4:42 p.m. July 2, 2008

Patriotism, also responsible for the birth of the United States of America whose Independence we're celebrating this week! Without their precious blood that they freely spilt we would not enjoy the freedoms we now have. I for one honor patriotism and those patriots who gave their lives for my freedom! I will celebrate their sacrifice this 4th of July.

Lafayette | 5:32 p.m. July 2, 2008

was a Frenchman who saved our patriots' bacon during the Revolutionary War...

russ | 6:51 p.m. July 2, 2008

Let's get it straight: 1. I am a Ute, 2. I am not a Mormon, and 3. I have been to many parts of Russia, working with the locals.

Travis, you are a winner. Keep doing it. I would love to buy you and the Mrs. dinner some day.

Proud of yah.

grateful | 6:58 p.m. July 2, 2008

Hansens organization approached me and gave our organization 20 slots in their basket ball camp for youth that had a parent deployed in the military. He's the salt of the earth, made each and every one of the kids at his camp feel special and more importantly, humanized the "hero" sports figure that is always being looked for. If he's gotten citizenship in Russia, let him play. Is it any different than NBA stars making their living off of YOU and then going back and playing for their country, even though they live here year round. IN my opinion, NOPE.

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