Associated Press

March 12, 2007
by Janie McCauley

Citizen Foyle: A new status for center

OAKLAND, Calif. - Adonal Foyle has spent many frustrating moments in airports explaining the legitimacy of his passport from tiny Canouan, in the cluster of Caribbean islands called St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Sometimes he pulls out maps to show his homeland -- all 5 square miles of it -- does indeed exist. He'll no longer have to hassle.

On Tuesday, the Golden State center will become a U.S. citizen, taking part in a naturalization ceremony in San Francisco as part of a group of 1,150 people from 94 countries who will become Americans.

"It's a really big deal," Foyle said. "It's been in the works for almost 10 years. It's pretty amazing that it's finally here and that I can do that -- I can get a passport and get in and out of Canada a lot easier than before."

Foyle, who turns 32 on March 19, has never voted for anything official. To him that might be the most important aspect of this process. For years, he has been encouraging the youth involved in his foundation about the importance of political participation and making votes count.

"You've got to put your money where your mouth is," he said with a chuckle, contemplating his soon-to-be new life before the Warriors played the Clippers on Friday night. "They'd say: "Did you vote? Who'd you vote for?' and I would say, 'Oh, I can't vote.' So now I get to say, 'This is what I'm voting for' and hopefully I'll be able to talk about what it is I'm voting for. Especially in California, it's truly participatory democracy because there are so many propositions that come out during an election that you have to pay attention to."

Foyle has been receiving congratulatory phone calls from friends and family everywhere. His stepparents, Jay and Joan Mandle, will make the trip from New York to support Foyle when he takes his oath. They are the ones who brought him to the United States when he was a teenager.

Joan has been on the end of many phone calls from Foyle, who would tell her he was having trouble getting in or out of a country yet again.

Foyle has succeeded at the highest level in a sport that's well behind cricket and soccer on the popularity list in his country. This might just be the biggest step taken yet by Foyle and his size-17 feet.

He didn't even begin playing organized basketball until age 16, and the sport is what ultimately will have helped him become an American. Foyle hopes the story of his success can inspire others back home.

"When you're from another country, when you decide to do something like this, you have to think about it and what it means and you obviously get to study," he said. "You get to seriously think about what you're doing, what you're committing to -- things that you would take for granted, like the ability to vote. ...

"When I left the Caribbean, I was 15 and I was not the age to vote, and when I came here I was illegal. I have not cast a ballot. That's astounding."

After he becomes an American, Foyle plans to help any of his foreign-born teammates study to become citizens if that's what they want to do. He's guessing center Andris Biedrins from Latvia might be next to follow suit. Biedrins isn't ready to commit just yet.

"I'm happy for him that he did what he wants to do," Biedrins said. "I saw him when we were on the road and he had some exams and he was really studying hard."

Foyle never doubted this day would come, even if it took a decade of hard work on top of everything else he was doing along the way for basketball.

"It's been so long. I thought it eventually would (happen)," he said. "It's been almost 18 years that I've been here. Wow."

Copyright © 2007, Associated Press

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