On the field and in the board room, let’s keep saying yes to the best.

Boston Celtics’ Center Al Horford from Dominican Republic and Washington Wizards’ Center Marcin Gortat from Poland.
Boston Celtics’ Center Al Horford from Dominican Republic and Washington Wizards’ Center Marcin Gortat from Poland. Photo by Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA via Wikimedia Commons.

 

When the Boston Celtics want to find the best basketball players, they don’t just look in Boston, or Massachusetts or even the United States. That’s why, according to the Boston Business Journal, the third-highest compensated athlete in Boston is Celtics’ Center Al Horford from Dominican Republic and the seventh-highest is Celtics’ Point Guard and former NBA Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving from Australia.

It’s not just the Celtics who rely on foreign-born talent. In fact, according to the same article, 36 percent of the top 25 highest-compensated athletes in Boston are foreign-born. They play for the Celtics, the Red Sox and the Bruins. This is hardly a Boston phenomenon. It’s an American phenomenon. A recent report from the Institute for Immigration Research found that while foreign-born individuals comprised 13.4 percent of the U.S. population, 25.4 percent of Major League Baseball players were foreign-born.

Of course, every team wants to hire the best possible players. When it comes time to score the winning point, fans love whoever can deliver results, regardless of where they are from. In the same way, every company wants to hire the best talent to deliver the best results and satisfy their customers. Just like the Celtics, America’s strength lies in giving people the chance to be the best they can be, regardless of where they are from. We retain this advantage as long as we continue to welcome newcomers.

Boston Bruins’ center who scored the winning goal at the 2011 Stanley Cup Patrice Bergeron is from Canada.
Boston Bruins’ center who scored the winning goal at the 2011 Stanley Cup Patrice Bergeron is from Canada. Photo by By Lisa Gansky from New York, NY, USA, via Wikimedia Commons.
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