The Defectors A Decade Later

December 2001 when…

Ihosvani Hernandez, Leonel Marshall, Jorge Luis Hernandez, Angel Dennis, Yasser Romero and Ramon Gato sneaked out of their hotel rooms then took a train heading to Italy after a tournament in Flanders, Belgium.  These athletes whose last FIVB tournament was at the 2001 Grand Champions Cup decided to completely rest their Cuban jerseys & turn their backs on their country who molded them to be among the world’s top athletes.

As soon as they accomplished their mission and granted political asylum in Italy, Marshall and Team were  given the sobriquet of ” The Defectors” .

What is a “defector”?

A defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.

No one would’ve thought 6 of the world’s best players at that time who just won the gold medal at the Grand Champions Cup would plan such action despite of the consequences they’d face which includes them getting banned from visiting Cuba and seeing their families & loved ones.

Leonel Marshall for example took a very risky move. As far as we know, his father at that time was the President of the Cuban Volleyball Federation.

Not really sure if his relationship with his papa was affected by his bold decision. He went on to play in the Italian League 2 years after he defected. He made his Serie A1 debut playing for Copra Piacenza until 2007. He played for Roma Volley from 2007-2008, then rejoined Piacenza the following season and finally signed a reportedly million dollar deal for 2 seasons with Turkish club team, Fenerbahce Istanbul, in 2010.

Marshall is popularly known as the player with a 50-inch vertical. For sure you’ve seen his videos on Youtube.

The other 5 players are not as prolific as Marshall but still pretty much active in the volleyball world.

Angel Dennis, the lefty opposite, has been playing in Italy since 2003 except for a short stint in Qatar in 2004. Some of Dennis’ major accomplishments since he became a professional player was winning the Italian League and Italian Super Cup in 2006 and 2005 & 2006 editions of the CEV Cups with Lube Volley.

In 2006, he married Italian outside hitter Simona Rineiri and became an Italian citizen. The union didn’t last and they separated in 2009 (?).The 1.93m spiker has been playing for for Casa Modena in the Italian League since 2007.

After playing in Italy from 2004 – 2006, Turkey 2006-2007, Poland 2007-2009, 200-2010 Romania and Argentina from 2010-2011, Ihosvany Hernandez is currently living in Spain and and has launched his own volleyball camp/clinic called “Voley A Lo Cubano” in June this year.

We’re not quite sure what happened to his brother, Jorge Luis. As far as we know he has retired from volleyball.

In case you don’t remember how great Ihosvany was back in the days, watch this:

Ramon Gato first played in 2003 for Verona and represented the team until 2008. Just like Dennis, Ramon also played in Qatar for Al Arabi from 2004-2005 for a short time before returning to Italy.

In 2008, he transferred to Padova for one season & played for Slovenian club team ACH Bled the following year. The last time he played professionally was during the 2010-2011 season for Geotec Isernia in the Italian League A2 Division.

At present, Ramon is reportedly living in Spain as a married man and one of the coaches at Ihosvany’s volleyball clinic.

Last but not the least is the libero Yasser Romero Mayeta.

Just like the rest, Yasser made his professional debut in Itay after he defected. He signed on to play for 2003-2004 Coprasystel Ventaglio Piacenza, 2004-2005 Videx Royal Pat Grottazzolina (A2), 2005-2006 Carige Copra Genova (A2), 2006-2007 M. Roma Volley and 2007-2008 Roma Volley.

He switched to beach volleyball from 2008-2009 and competed at the Puerto Rican Beach Volleyball Tour and returned to indoor volleyball after inking a deal with Romanian club team, Tomis Constanta.

As far as we know, he became an outside hitter during the later stage of his professional career.

At present, he is currently living in Rome, Italy as a married man and became a first time father over a year ago.

According to this article:

“The Cuban volleyball team is a disaster. Why? Because more than 14 volleyball players sought political asylum in Europe and Puerto Rico (2001-2007). They included: Raydel Poey, Yasser Portuondo, Javier Gonzalez, Javier Brito, Maikel Salas, Yosleider Cala, Osvaldo Hernandez, Dennis Angel, Alexis Battle, Laseer Romero, Ramon Gato, Jorge Luis Hernandez, Ihosvany Hernandez and Leonel Marshall.”

That’s a lot!

We can add a few more and they are Taismary Aguero (2001) and Dulce Tellez (2006). We’re not sure if Osmany Juantorena defected from Cuba but as far as we know he was suspended for 2 years in 2006 after getting tested positive for doping. Then had some issues with the Cuban Federation before playing in Italy. He was inactive for 3 years.

In 2009, Trentino Volley officially welcomed him on their squad & Os is currently one of Trentino’s most precious athletes with 3 CEV Champions Cup Titles & Club World Championship titles to name a few.

According to this article:

“In 1999, the Cuban Sports Institute allowed a few volleyball and baseball players to work abroad, especially at the end of their careers, at salaries negotiated by officials. But that opening was shut in 2005. Most Cuban sports players get monthly government salaries of $16. Olympic medalists receive an additional lifetime monthly stipend: $300 for gold medal winners and less for other medalists. The government pays for entertainment, education, health, travel, housing and cars.”

Earning $16 per month is pretty tough for Cuban athletes to remain in Cuba and continue to represent their country. Juatorena alone is reportedly the top earner in the Italian League and same with Taimarys Aguero.

Leaving your country and your loved ones behind to seek greener pastures is NOT an easy task at all. Back in 2008, Aguero failed to see her mother who was very ill. The Cuban Federation reportedly delayed her getting a visa to enter Cuba again. She was already in Beijing getting ready to compete at the Olympics with the Italian National Team. Italy finished a disappointing 5th.

More on Aguero’s story:

“Aguero had already arrived in Beijing when she got word her mother, 61-year-old Dolce Fedora, was seriously ill back home in Cuba. Aguero, who had not seen her mother since her defection, flew to Europe seeking a visa to return Cuba to see her. When the visa initially appeared unlikely, she returned to Beijing. However, when she got back to China it appeared she would be granted a visa after all, and she prepared to leave again. But it was too late. Aguero was told that her mother had died. “When I was informed of the possibility to fly back to Cuba, my mother passed away. I did not see her for eight years, but she knew that I was with her, that I made all my efforts to go there,” she said. “This will be always an empty space. No one has any fault over this, things happen and you have to take them as they come.”

There are always consequences in every action and every choice we make in life. We can’t blame these athletes for doing what they did. Whether they’re playing for their country, wearing a different jersey and even playing for another country as a naturalized player, the main thing that we can be proud of these players is that they never quit the game.

Their volleyball journey continues as their stories live on.

Vamos Cuba!

Side Dish: We suggest you also read this report on Simon and Leal. Click HERE To Read “The Cuban Drama“.

(source and images: Wikipedia/ FIVB/ legavolley.it)