Being Iranian can get you barred from the NBA

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Imagine that you are a young man who's only dream is to make it to the NBA. You have all the tools, you have the height and you have the skills.

The only thing that's stopping you, is the country your from.

Hold on a second, the NBA is in the United States right? The US is supposed to be land of the brave and the home of the free. Employers here are supposed to be unbiased and everyone is supposed to have equal opportunity to get all jobs right?

I guess the Federal Government and the NBA don't count.

A few teams have been interested in Iranian center Hamed Ehadadi, but it doesn't look like they are going to be able to make a deal the center. Why? Blame Uncle Sam.

[T]he league office has sent a letter to its 30 teams instructing that they are forbidden to even discuss a contract with Ehadadi, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

In the letter, which was sent Friday, NBA legal counsel wrote: "It has come to our attention that representatives of Hamed Ehadadi, an Iranian basketball player, may be contacting NBA teams to discuss the possibility of signing Mr. Ehadadi to an NBA player contract. We have been advised that a federal statute prohibits a person or organization in the United States from engaging in business dealings with Iranian nationals."

Apparently on top of being Iranian, this guy isn't even supposed to be that great of a prospect so I wouldn't expect to see any teams trying to jump through government hoops to get pick him up.