To not like the way the BBC always try and 'encourage' foreign players to play for GB...

[StrictlyTory]

During Queens Tennis I watched an interview with the Jamaican tennis player Dustin Brown. It was mentioned by the interviewer very quickly that he was the only ranked Jamaican player and how he was the first in 40 years to play at Queens...

Then VERY quickly it turned to how he had a British Grand Mother and should come and play for the UK Now they have done this in the past with James Blake etc encouraging him to switch from the USA to UK but this time the interviewer really kept on about it and then when they went back to the studio the odious Andrew Castle was going on and on about how the LTA should make a big effort to 'recuit' Brown At no point did Brown volunteer this info, it was all 'suggested' to him by the interviewer.

Now I see this BBC artical and can't help but be really angry with the whole BBC attitude. It's like they see a Commonwealth country produce someone good and immediately feel they have some right to try and grab them! We don't have an empire anymore for God's sake! I hate the fact they have put the thought into Brown's head of all the money the LTA will give him that Jamaican tennis cannot.

We have all these players, Robson, Baltacha the horrendous Boggo who were not born here or have any British parents which is one thing as it was their choice but I feel here this element of 'recuiting' is really very distasteful. Heaven forbid the fact Jamaica actually have a good player for the first ime in 40 years.... the most important thing is that the UK seems practicallly unable to produce good players so we are reduced to trying to steal them from abroad!

Shouldn't we spend more time working on finding our own talent?

[StrictlyTory]

Exactly! He is Jamaican, why can't they get over it? You don't see other countries begging anyone with a drop of their blood to play for them do you? They actually concentrate on the players who are actually from their country and improve them....

I'm also annoyed on Jamaica's behalf that the UK are flashing their wallet essentially when they know Jamaica can't compete rather than actually accepting that it might be good for Jamaica to have ONE good player in the last FORTY years

[StrictlyTory]

Yes, but they normally wait for the players to approach them! Brown at no point approached GB tennis, he said in his interview that they have to approach him! I think it's just highly inappropriate for interviewers to be asking players to switch nationality without any interest from the players themselves first.