with the NBA Finals all but won and the NBA season winding down, basketball fans will turn their attention to 2012 Olympics and all eyes will be on team USA's quest for the top podium and Olympic gold for the second straight games and five out of six Olympic games. 4 years ago, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and company brought the home the gold after a very disappointing campaign in 2004.
in 1992, FIBA allowed professional players the honor of representing their countries in the Olympic games and the US put together an impressive team of 11 future Hall of Famers including Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. These players put aside any differences they might have had playing against each other in the NBA to form what many consider to be the greatest team assembled in any sport. the best of the best playing for pride and country.
as with team USA's once overwhelming dominance, the times now are different.
in an interview with FoxSports that was published April 11, 2012 Ray Allen had this take:
"You talk about the patriotism that guys should want to play for, but you (need to) find a way to entice the guys," Allen said. "It's not the easiest thing in the world if you play deep in the playoffs and then you get two, three weeks off and then you start training again to play more basketball where it requires you to be away from home and in another country. It's fun, but your body does need a break.
"Everybody says, 'Play for your country.' But (NBA players are) commodities, your businesses. You think about it, you do camps in the summer, you have various opportunities to make money. When you go overseas and play basketball, you lose those opportunties, what you may make… If I'm an accountant and I get outsourced by my firm, I'm going to make some money somewhere else."
shortly after that ESPN reported Dwayne Wade saying:
"It's a lot of things you do for the Olympics -- a lot of jerseys you sell. We play the whole summer. I do think guys should be compensated. Just like I think college players should be compensated as well. Unfortunately, it's not there. But I think it should be something, you know, there for it."
so this is my question to you the reader: should Olympic athletes get compensated for their time, energy and risk of injury participating in the games or should the honor and privilege of representing your country be enough?
My question is, what are the other athletes in it for? I mean the athletes in other competing events: gymnasts, swimmers, runners, decathletes -- all those guys. Where does the US pull those competitors from? Are they also pros who are in the Olympics on their off seasons too? What do compensation plans look like for them? Do they even have compensation plans, or are they forking over their own money to be there? What about basketball teams from other countries... Are those players from the pro league too? Are they getting extra incentive to play in their off season?
ReplyDeleteI have no clue what the answers are to these questions, but the basketball players coming from the NBA should consider these questions before they sign up. Yes, we want the best players to represent us at the Olympics. Yes, if the best players are in the NBA, we'll take them. Yes, they wouldn't be getting the off-season rest that they need and deserve. But it's the Olympics. Why should they get special treatment if no one else is?
In my opinion, the opportunity to represent our country should be incentive enough, and if that's not good for them, then they don't have to be part of it. That's what I think. If our Dream/Redeem Team ends up becoming the laughingstock of the events, then so be it. It's not like basketball is the only thing the USA is good for anyway, right?