I really like the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade as a player and as a person, almost all of the time. One of the exceptions, however, came this week when Wade opined that NBA players in the Olympics should get paid.
After that comment made the rounds, Wade then backtracked. He issued a statement saying players shouldn't get paid after all.
I doubt Wade changed his mind on that so quickly -- more likely he had it "changed" for him by someone.
But to think that NBA players who make tens of millions should get more money for the privilege of representing their country -- that was one of the more tone-deaf remarks any NBA athlete has made in years.
It also was an unintentional insult to all of the thousands of Olympic athletes who have given up an inordinate amount of time for many years to pursue their own dreams, with no chance at an eight-figure contract because they don't happen to be great at a sport that has a well-organized pro league. Those athletes live on the verge of poverty, just hoping to make the team.
Now I'm not saying that the athletes should have to pay their way to London for the 2012 Games -- that's what the U.S. Olympic Committee is for. Their expenses should be taken care of, and their gear and their medical needs. But that's it. if you want to give them a performance-based bonus for a gold medal, I'm OK with that.
But the Olympics shouldn't be considered a job. It's an adventure, and a privilege.
Two other Olympic notes:
-- The U.S. whitewater Olympic Trials at the excellent U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte concludes Saturday night (it runs from 3-7 p.m. Saturday and is free and open to the public -- parking is $5). I'm writing about Caroline Queen, one of the best women's kayakers in America and a Davidson sophomore, for Saturday's newspaper. (UPDATE: Here's a link to the column).
-- Greco-Roman wrestler Dremiel Byers, who grew up in Kings Mountain and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., has a good shot at making the Olympics again. Byers was on the team in 2008 but didn't medal. He is the No.1 seed in the heavyweight division of the wrestling Olympic Trials, which conclude April 21st.
We're moving!
9 years ago
Posts
9 comments:
Let's get the Hornets name back!!!!
We beelieve!!!!!!
Nothing new to see this. A few years ago the same thing happened in the world of professional golf regarding the Ryder Cup. A group of pros including Tiger Woods were grumbling about how they didn't get paid for representing their country in Ryder Cup matches and how terrible that was for the poor dears.
As a result, the Tour capitulated and the players are now paid, with part of their "purse" going to various charities to give them cover. As a famous sportswriter once said, the PGA Tour is the most conservative club there is.
I think Wade's point was that the Olympics make a large amount of money off the basketball players through licensing and jersey sales that is not made off the typical olympic kayak competitor. He doesn't see a dime of that. They are using his name and his face.
The situation is different for these guys because of the amount of money to be made off of them. No one likes to be taken advantage of, especially when they are potentially putting their career on the line if they become injured in such an event.
Dwayne, if you don't like it, don't participate. Yes, they make money off basketball, but that money is needed to fund other sports.
On the surface, Wade's comment sounds ridiculous, yet he's making the exact same point that everyone now is saying about college basketball. If the organization putting the games together is making money, why not the athletes who are really the stars of the games? And if we say he's already a millionaire and doesn't deserve to get paid, then do we only compensate college basketball players from poor families and not from rich ones? As for the arguement of playing for one's own country, that's the second worse sin of the Olympic games, tying it to national pride. Think of the US and Soviet boycotts that robbed athletes their chance of competing and the rigged judging in gymnastics, skating, and the US-Soviet basketball championship that let government officials decide the fate of honest competition. The worst sin is the idea of the Olympics as an amateur game. It was a paid for play event long before the idea came up in college basketball. The Olympics are great for watching athletic events that don't normally get air time on TV and see athletes who do things that we couch potatoes can only imagine.
But let's call the Olympics for what it is, an opportunity for organizers to make money off the sweat of the athletes who compete. Let's let the athletes in on the action too.
Dwayne, you already get paid to be in the Olympics. It's called endorsements. If you don't want the honor of representing the country in the international stage, don't play. Nobody is forcing you (except maybe your sponsors, who after-all, do pay your salary).
Spare me "the honor of representing your country". That is not the reason NBA players are in the Olympics. Just representing the USA ended in 1998. They are there for immature fans that want to say the obvious. The USA has the best basketball players in the world. Comparing the pros to the amateur athletes is ridiculous. Pros are helping the Olympics. The Olympics is helping the amateurs.
Once again fans and media show what they truly think about athletes. They are here to entertain us and should be happy with getting whatever the fans and media feel they deserve.
i've been to olympic events...
and the tickets were expensive...
someone's getting paid...
why not the athletes?
Post a Comment