ESPN: Serbia and Montenegro accuse Divac of skipping draft

[Warhawk]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2225814


Serbia and Montenegro's army has filed charges against former NBA star Vlade Divac for evading the military draft.
Divac, 37, was obliged by the law to join the compulsory six-month military service by the age of 35, the state prosecutors' office said Wednesday.
It asked Serbia and Montenegro's foreign ministry "to determine Divac's citizenship and his home address" to be able to carry out the legal proceedings and hand him the draft notice.
Divac, who lives in Los Angeles, could face a one-year prison sentence in his native country if he does not join the army soon, legal experts said.
Divac ended his 16-year NBA playing career last month, taking a job with the Los Angeles Lakers as a liaison and scout in Europe.
Divac was one of the first Europeans to have a major impact in the NBA. He was first drafted by the Lakers in 1989, and later played for the Charlotte Hornets and the Sacramento Kings.
He joined centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to get 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.
Divac is hugely popular in Serbia for helping Yugoslavia to silver medals at the 1988 and 1996 Olympics, and leading the country now known as Serbia and Montenegro to a gold medal at the 2002 world championships.
At one point, there were widespread public calls for Divac to join a presidential race after former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic was ousted in 2000.

 

[Bricklayer]

ALL I have to say is that S&Ms army should just give that one up.

 

[piksi]

since there is no war going on at the moment - they needed something to do.

How about catching all the war criminals first

idiots

 

[vj9999]

Jeez. They should build him a freaking monument. I guess that's the reward you get for being the most charitable person that area has ever seen.

 

[Peja]

Serbian Army and Police-the stupidest sort of people here...Jerks!

 

[Folsom Al]

What an amazing world we live in ...

 

[DeAtHrOw]

Serbian Army and Police-the stupidest sort of people here...Jerks!

Please don't generalize because one or two idiots are pulling this sh*t.

It's just crazy. How about all those politicians' sons that did not serve the army?

 

[QueensFan]

Divac has done a helluva lot more for his country by playing in the NBA than he ever could have done in the army...

Still, compulsory service is compulsory - they are obviously trying to make an example of him.

 

[bozzwell]

Wasn't there an amnesty for all of us who never served during Milosevic years? I was in Serbia in May and I didn't get arrested at the border or anything like that...

 

[DeAtHrOw]

Divac has done a helluva lot more for his country by playing in the NBA than he ever could have done in the army...

Still, compulsory service is compulsory - they are obviously trying to make an example of him.

Trust me there a lot more people that deserve much more to be made an example of.

 

[DeAtHrOw]

Wasn't there an amnesty for all of us who never served during Milosevic years? I was in Serbia in May and I didn't get arrested at the border or anything like that...

You must be under 35 then

 

[ILV]

It sounds like his popularity is scaring somebody.

 

[QueensFan]

Trust me there a lot more people that deserve much more to be made an example of.

Really? Isn't Vlade one of the highest profile people in the country?

 

[kingsfan916]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2225814


Serbia and Montenegro's army has filed charges against former NBA star Vlade Divac for evading the military draft.
Divac, 37, was obliged by the law to join the compulsory six-month military service by the age of 35, the state prosecutors' office said Wednesday.
It asked Serbia and Montenegro's foreign ministry "to determine Divac's citizenship and his home address" to be able to carry out the legal proceedings and hand him the draft notice.
Divac, who lives in Los Angeles, could face a one-year prison sentence in his native country if he does not join the army soon, legal experts said.
Divac ended his 16-year NBA playing career last month, taking a job with the Los Angeles Lakers as a liaison and scout in Europe.
Divac was one of the first Europeans to have a major impact in the NBA. He was first drafted by the Lakers in 1989, and later played for the Charlotte Hornets and the Sacramento Kings.
He joined centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to get 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.
Divac is hugely popular in Serbia for helping Yugoslavia to silver medals at the 1988 and 1996 Olympics, and leading the country now known as Serbia and Montenegro to a gold medal at the 2002 world championships.
At one point, there were widespread public calls for Divac to join a presidential race after former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic was ousted in 2000.

WTF?!??!?!??!

 

[bozzwell]

You must be under 35 then

That's correct. But then again amesty was couple of years ago and he was <35 back then or did I get it all wrong?

 

[Venom]

It sounds like his popularity is scaring somebody.

Bingo!! Someone wants him to be kept off the election ballot. This probably will not work.

 

[DeAtHrOw]

Really? Isn't Vlade one of the highest profile people in the country?

Milosevic's son for example.

 

[DeAtHrOw]

That's correct. But then again amesty was couple of years ago and he was <35 back then or did I get it all wrong?

I am not quite sure what they did. I know they had that amnesty thing, then they shortened service time and now is the first time I hear about this how you must serve the army before you turn 35.

 

[VF21]

Hey, cut them some slack.

They tried to notify him. They just couldn't find him because he was maintaining such a low profile all this time...

 

[vj9999]

Hey, cut them some slack.

They tried to notify him. They just couldn't find him because he was maintaining such a low profile all this time...

I heared he played for the national team under a false name , owned a business over there, etc... Seriously though, was he supposed to take a year off from playing basketball because of it?!

Or maybe somebody overthere was upset that he finished his career as a laker.

 

[AleksandarN]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051117...LQF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

LOS ANGELES - Former NBA center Vlade Divac said Wednesday he was surprised to learn that his home country was accusing him of avoiding its military draft.

Serbia-Montenegro's army says it has filed charges against him. Divac, 37, was obliged by law to join the compulsory six-month military service by the age of 35, the country's state prosecutors' office said earlier Wednesday.
It asked Serbia-Montenegro's foreign ministry "to determine Divac's citizenship and his home address" to be able to carry out the legal proceedings and hand him the draft notice.
"I have learned about this a couple of days ago and it came as a complete surprise," Divac said in a statement issued through his agent, Marc Fleisher.
"I have filed all of the necessary documents required for postponing army duties on a regular basis with the Serbian embassy in the United States and the of Serbia and Montenegro. In my opinion, this is a non-issue and it will be resolved in the next couple of days."
Divac, who lives in Los Angeles, could face a one-year prison sentence in his native country if he does not join the army soon, legal experts in Serbia-Montenegro said.
He ended his 16-year NBA career last month, taking a job with the as a liaison and scout in Europe.
Divac was one of the first Europeans to have a major impact in the NBA. He was first drafted by the Lakers in 1989, and later played for the Charlotte Hornets and the He joined centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to get 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocked shots.
Divac is hugely popular in Serbia for helping the former Yugoslavia to silver medals at the 1988 and 1996 Olympics, and leading the country now known as Serbia-Montenegro to a gold medal at the 2002 world championships.
There were widespread public calls for Divac to join a presidential race after former Yugoslav President"Throughout my professional basketball career, I have always voiced my patriotism for my native land," Divac said. "My fellow countrymen are well aware of my contributions and know how much I care for Serbia and Montenegro."

 

[ParniValjak]

since there is no war going on at the moment - they needed something to do.

How about catching all the war criminals first

idiots

Exactly right.

This is a ****ing disgrace. FFS get your acts together.

 

[DeAtHrOw]

Exactly right.

This is a ****ing disgrace. FFS get your acts together.

To make matters even worse, it's all over all the major news.

 

[Gargamel]

Fight the Man, Vlade!

 

[sloter]

To make the matters less worse, Serbian officials are working on taking the draft notice back.

 

[VF21]

Personally, I sincerely hope they issue a formal apology to Vlade for the attempted character assassination. That was and is despicable.

Vlade - If you need a place to hide to avoid extradition, just drop me a line. I'm sure we could work something out.

 

[ILV]

Back off VF21 I have already declared my house a safe hiding place.

 

[RoyalDiva]

Personally, I sincerely hope they issue a formal apology to Vlade for the attempted character assassination. That was and is despicable.

Vlade - If you need a place to hide to avoid extradition, just drop me a line. I'm sure we could work something out.

Yes, I think your being up in the mountains is the perfect hiding place for him. Plenty of room to hide him, and if not, well then you could just disguise him as one of the forest trees.

 

[Gargamel]

Yes, I think your being up in the mountains is the perfect hiding place for him. Plenty of room to hide him, and if not, well then you could just disguise him as one of the forest trees.

He might drop a cigarette on the forest floor. Too risky.

 

[PixelPusher]

Grant Napear on his radio show yesterday said this whole thing was bogus, and that Vlade acually has diplomatic status. If that's true, then Vlade Divac is "literally" an ambassador!