Born in the U.S., Ra Gun-ah joined the KBL in 2012 as a uniform for Ulsan Mobis. Her name was Ricardo Ratliff.
With his natural physical strength and powerful under-the-goal offense, he has been reborn as one of the best foreign players. After playing for Samsung in Seoul, he chose to become a special naturalized Korean player and became a special naturalized Korean player named Ra Gun-ah in January 2018.
Ra Gun-ah, who was traded from Hyundai Mobis to Jeonju KCC (currently Busan KCC), expired his contract with KCC in May 2021, but was re-appointed as KCC, who made a single bid in the special naturalized player draft held shortly after, and played for three more years.
At that time, the contract was made by the Korea Basketball Association (KBA), the Korea Basketball League (KBL), and KCC, with Ra Gun-ah at the center. The core of the contract was that the KBA and KBL would share Ra Gun-ah’s A-match allowance.
However, as the contract expires on May 31, 2024, the fate of Ra Gun-ah is unknown.
If Ra Gun-ah decides to go to the U.S., there is no problem, but if she continues to play in Korea, her status should be sorted out.
Ra Gun-ah, who passed a difficult special naturalization examination by the Ministry of Justice in 2018, has dual nationality between the U.S. and South Korea, but has been classified as a foreign player in the KBL so far.
Ra Gun-ah, who was classified as a foreign player, was able to negotiate with overseas clubs like other foreign players, but KCC kept Ra Gun-ah with various allowances such as national team incentives.
However, given the considerable age, it is unclear whether other clubs will use Ra Gun-ah as a foreign player until they succeed to various conditions such as national team incentives.
If other clubs, including KCC, do not recruit Ra Gun-ah, chances are high that Ra Gun-ah will turn to other stages such as the United States.
Some say the time has come to recognize Ra Gun-ah as a Korean player, who has been called to join the national team for six years as a naturalized player. However, it is extremely unlikely that the head of each team will approve Ra Gun-ah’s recognition as a Korean player, as she is more skilled than Korean centers.
If Ra Gun-ah does not accompany the KBL club due to various problems, it will no longer be possible to see Ra Gun-ah wearing the national flag.
Although there is no problem in transferring to the national team due to naturalized status, it is not easy for the basketball association to use naturalized players who play in other countries for the national team.
Ra Gun-ah is also aware of this. “I will not join the Korean national team, but I will still support Korean basketball,” Ra Gun-ah said after the FIBA Asia Cup qualifier against Thailand in February, hinting at her retirement from the national team.
However, the association wants Ra Gun-ah to play more for the national team, so consultations with KBL are needed.
The KBL board of directors will soon decide the complicated future of Ra Gun-ah. A KBL official said, “We will hold a board meeting in May to decide on the details related to Ra Gun-ah.”
KBL plans to discuss Ra Gun-ah’s status, contract method, period, size, and contract extension with the Basketball Association through a board meeting this month.
BY: 안전놀이터
