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By CHRIS SHERIDAN
AP Basketball Writer
September 11, 2000
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- The U.S. basketball teams made a bizarre, pre-dawn exit Tuesday (Monday night EDT) from their besieged hotel complex, but only after getting final clearance from a young protester with a mohawk.
With massive protests taking place outside their hotel, which also was the site of the World Economic Forum, the men's and women's teams were virtual prisoners inside. A decision was made late Monday night to get out of Melbourne and head to Sydney, and the teams got onto buses by 6:45 a.m.
About 100 protesters sat in the street and blocked the main exit near the front entrance of the Crown Casino and Hotel. The protesters decided by voice vote that they would not move aside to let the team leave.
The buses then turned around and headed toward a different exit, where another group of demonstrators had gathered.
Not believing that the buses held Olympic athletes, the protesters initially refused to move. After the police asked them to come inside the concrete barricades and have a look for themselves, a 21-year-old with a punk rock haircut volunteered to do the job.
``I looked in the first bus and it didn't look like a basketball team, but then I looked inside the second bus,'' said the mohawk man, Yanni Cotis of Adelaide. ``We had a quick discussion about whether to let them go through and decided to let them leave.''
Players and team personnel were half-amused and half-shocked that their safe passage was in the hands of someone looking like a distant cousin of Billy Idol.
``Something I learned long ago was to expect the unexpected,'' U.S. coach Rudy Tomjanovich said, ``and this was one of those cases. It was good we got out and got our freedom.''
The players' family members had left a few hours earlier, before most of the protesters arrived at the hotel.
The teams had planned to stay in Melbourne until later this week, but the protests that virtually shut down the hotel forced a hasty change in plans.
The men's team had to cancel practice Monday because of the protests, while the women's team made it out of the hotel on foot before being forced to return by boat.
USA Basketball officials had been warned months ago that they could become circumstantial victims of the protests, but decided to stick with their accommodations.
Now, they're moving on to Sydney with some strange stories to tell.
``I was stunned by the whole situation,'' Antonio McDyess said. ``How could they let a guy in a mohawk be their leader?''
Said Allan Houston: ``What kind of a place are we in when USA Basketball, the police and 100 security guards have to get approval from a guy in a mohawk. What does that tell you?''
The men held a two-hour practice after making their escape, then sat around the gymnasium for another hour with nothing to do and no place to go as their flight to Sydney was not due to leave for several hours.
By late morning, the crowds outside the former U.S. team hotel had swelled to in size to several thousand. The players, meanwhile, were recounting the story of their pre-dawn escape. They even came up with a nickname for the mohawk man, dubbing him ``Zippy.''
``It was nice of that guy to let us through,'' Jason Kidd said. ``It shows you how much power the (protesters) have.''
And ya know, in Melbourne AussieVamp already had heaps of pull even before he got that haircut. (just jokes my friend)
AP Basketball Writer
September 11, 2000
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- The U.S. basketball teams made a bizarre, pre-dawn exit Tuesday (Monday night EDT) from their besieged hotel complex, but only after getting final clearance from a young protester with a mohawk.
With massive protests taking place outside their hotel, which also was the site of the World Economic Forum, the men's and women's teams were virtual prisoners inside. A decision was made late Monday night to get out of Melbourne and head to Sydney, and the teams got onto buses by 6:45 a.m.
About 100 protesters sat in the street and blocked the main exit near the front entrance of the Crown Casino and Hotel. The protesters decided by voice vote that they would not move aside to let the team leave.
The buses then turned around and headed toward a different exit, where another group of demonstrators had gathered.
Not believing that the buses held Olympic athletes, the protesters initially refused to move. After the police asked them to come inside the concrete barricades and have a look for themselves, a 21-year-old with a punk rock haircut volunteered to do the job.
``I looked in the first bus and it didn't look like a basketball team, but then I looked inside the second bus,'' said the mohawk man, Yanni Cotis of Adelaide. ``We had a quick discussion about whether to let them go through and decided to let them leave.''
Players and team personnel were half-amused and half-shocked that their safe passage was in the hands of someone looking like a distant cousin of Billy Idol.
``Something I learned long ago was to expect the unexpected,'' U.S. coach Rudy Tomjanovich said, ``and this was one of those cases. It was good we got out and got our freedom.''
The players' family members had left a few hours earlier, before most of the protesters arrived at the hotel.
The teams had planned to stay in Melbourne until later this week, but the protests that virtually shut down the hotel forced a hasty change in plans.
The men's team had to cancel practice Monday because of the protests, while the women's team made it out of the hotel on foot before being forced to return by boat.
USA Basketball officials had been warned months ago that they could become circumstantial victims of the protests, but decided to stick with their accommodations.
Now, they're moving on to Sydney with some strange stories to tell.
``I was stunned by the whole situation,'' Antonio McDyess said. ``How could they let a guy in a mohawk be their leader?''
Said Allan Houston: ``What kind of a place are we in when USA Basketball, the police and 100 security guards have to get approval from a guy in a mohawk. What does that tell you?''
The men held a two-hour practice after making their escape, then sat around the gymnasium for another hour with nothing to do and no place to go as their flight to Sydney was not due to leave for several hours.
By late morning, the crowds outside the former U.S. team hotel had swelled to in size to several thousand. The players, meanwhile, were recounting the story of their pre-dawn escape. They even came up with a nickname for the mohawk man, dubbing him ``Zippy.''
``It was nice of that guy to let us through,'' Jason Kidd said. ``It shows you how much power the (protesters) have.''
And ya know, in Melbourne AussieVamp already had heaps of pull even before he got that haircut. (just jokes my friend)
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