Maccabi Tel Aviv's Elijah Bryant sits out a domestic Israeli league game due to the "Russian rule," which requires at least one Israeli-born player on court at all times. This limits foreign players in Israel's 12-team league, unlike EuroLeague where teams can field unlimited international talent.
What's the Russian rule? Do you know the Russian rule? What you doing? What you doing, Mama Jules? What Mom got you in? Little suede joint with the blanket on? I know you're hot. Say hello. Say hello to the people. You wanted your mama? Are you a star? Are you my star? How was your run, Joe? Grind it out, Joe Bell. Grind it out. Okay, taste test. Not your best. Just kidding, it's really good. Oh wow. Well, today is game day and I'm not playing. And the reason is because— well, we start our Israeli local league today, and for that league there's something called the Russian rule. What's the Russian rule? Do you know the Russian rule? One Israeli on the court. Is it two Israelis? One Israeli. Good job, Joe. All right, so before we get to the Russian rule, let's talk about the leagues. So Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team I'm on, we play in the EuroLeague and the local Israeli league that consists of two different teams. One week we're playing around Europe and the other time during the week we're playing locally in Israel. The good thing about the Israeli league is that you can drive to most of the places besides one place, the first place I played in my career, Hapoel Eilat. It will always have a place in my heart. All right, so back to the two leagues. There are 18 teams in EuroLeague, and you're probably asking yourself what teams are in EuroLeague. So some of the teams that are very popular, they're like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich from soccer. So these are teams that we travel to across Europe to play. And as far as Israeli league goes, some of those teams play in Europe competition too. So EuroLeague's the highest, and then you have like Champions League, Eurocup. There's 12 teams in the Israeli league, and 3 of those teams play in a Europe competition, which means they play 2 to 3 games a week. Maccabi Tel Aviv? Alright, so that brings us back to the real reason why you're here. The Russian rule. Let me explain that. What's going on in here, John? What's up with the tank top? What we got going on here? It's called undershirt, my friend. So what are you doing in here? I'm about to lift. What does it look like I'm about to do in here? Hey, Jello. Chinatown Market. What'd you do over here? Oh, I was trying to keep it with my gear. Did you do a conditioning circuit? Uh, you know, a little lift. I got a question for you. What does the Russian rule mean? What is that? What is that? You have to have a player from that— Elijah, I have a question. I'm in the middle of an interview right now. One second. The Russian rule, you have to have a player on the court from that country. Okay, John, what's the Russian rule? You came in here, what's the Russian rule? I asked you about my tank top. Yeah, Angel's butt-ass naked and you have no questions for him? But I'm not used to seeing you showing your swollness off. I always have my shirt up when I'm working. So what's the Russian rule though? What's the Russian rule? Yeah, it means Israeli has to be on the floor at all times. Do you count as Israeli? Yes, I do. Okay, thank you. Whoa! Did you have fun without me? What'd you do when I was gone? What's the Russian rule? You know the Russian rule? I know, nice. So the Russian rule basically is you can only register so many foreign players some of them have to sit for the local league game. So today I am one of those players. I'm not playing in today's game, but it allows me to rest and get ready for the next game, the next EuroLeague game. You can play as many foreign players as you want in the EuroLeague games, but that is not the case in the local domestic leagues here in Israel. So today we play Hapoel Haifa, and we're actually playing at the Drive-In Arena where we play our rival Hapoel Tel Aviv. And the reason is because it's the cup. It's the Winners' Cup. It's the preseason tournament before the season starts, and the season's been on hold. Why has the season been on hold, Jo? There's a case of the Ronis. The Ronis, you're right. They postponed the season for a month or so and started actually a different league to allow the teams in Israel to play. Play and practice. The local government only allowed teams who were playing in Europe competition to practice, and if that was the case, Israeli teams wouldn't be able to practice for a month. So the Israeli league joined the Balkan league, which allowed them to practice. But now that everything's opening up, restaurants are opening for takeaway, then the Israeli league is starting back. Is everyone being tested for the Israeli league? That I don't know. Will there be some people who get it? I guess we'll find out and see, but remember to wash your hands, put hand sanitizer on, and practice social distancing. Good job, bubs! Tummy time! Good job! Good job! All right, so you guys get the point. I am not playing today for many reasons. One is the Russian rule. And I hope you guys enjoyed this video. I hope you guys learned something. I hope it inspired you to be better and In life, you're gonna have days where you're not gonna play or you're not gonna get opportunity, but don't use that as an excuse. If you're new to the channel, consider subscribing. We'll see you next time. Peace.
