Cotton citizenship fight continues

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

“Our job is to leave no stone unturned and work day and night every day to create that opportunity for him and his family faster than it would otherwise happen - even above basketball.”

The Perth Wildcats continue “to leave no stone unturned” in the fight to gain superstar Bryce Cotton an Australian citizenship.

Cotton has played for the Wildcats since 2017, but a 2021 paperwork mishap while he was changing from a normal Visa to a Distinguished Talent Visa saw him without a legal Visa for around 30 minutes.

Earlier this year The West Australian revealed that period of time between paperwork saw Cotton be in Australia illegally without a Visa, barring him from applying for citizenship until 2025.

Wildcats Owner Craig Hutchison says the club is working tirelessly to help Cotton become an Australian citizen.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EXCLUSIVE: The Wildcats are doing everything in their power to get Bryce Cotton eligible for next year's Olympics amid calls from his former coach to get him picked.<a href="https://t.co/pZdRVbsTc5">https://t.co/pZdRVbsTc5</a> <a href="https://t.co/o8jEz7GlV8">pic.twitter.com/o8jEz7GlV8</a></p>— The West Sport (@TheWestSport) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheWestSport/status/1698639380951310442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“He aspires to be an Australian citizen. We aspire to support that aspiration and we’ll do all we can,” Hutchison told The West Australian.

“It’s frustrating for him and for us, but especially for him. It’s a very complicated and complex issue through zero fault of his.

“Our job is to leave no stone unturned and work day and night every day to create that opportunity for him and his family faster than it would otherwise happen - even above basketball.”

Cotton’s citizenship has once again become a hot topic after the Australian Boomers were eliminated from the FIBA World Cup in just the second group stage.

Some pundits, including former Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson, believe Cotton’s scoring capabilities would greatly benefit the Boomers.

The West Australian reports Basketball Australia could formally ask the Government to make Cotton a citizen in the lead-up to next year’s Paris Olympics.

Cotton, a three-time league MVP, will begin his quest for his fourth NBL championship on September 29 when Perth hosts the Tasmania JackJumpers.