PJ Marcello (The Beacon)
By PJ Marcello, Staff Commentary
Dear NBA players who believe that playing in the Olympics should be a paid position, thank you for proving, once again, that you are part of the most selfish professional sporting league in the country.
If you are unfamiliar with this reference, please look up Ray Allen's latest comments on why he is no longer interested in playing for the U.S. Olympic team this summer in London. Allen believes that the time and energy of playing in the summer only a few short weeks after the season ends and the money created by jersey sales, advertisements and notoriety should constitute a paycheck.
With all due respect Mr. Allen, you are dead wrong. I hate to say that because Allen has been one of my favorite players since he came to the Seattle SuperSonics (R.I.P.), but these comments really got to me.
I understand that we live in a money-driven world and there are a lot of old white men making a lot of money off of the games, but I like to believe the Olympics still mean something other than monetary profit. Call me a fool, but I still think that being able to participate in anything at the highest possible level on the world's biggest stage on behalf of your country still means something more than getting a paycheck.
Right now there are millions of young basketball, track, gymnastics, swimming ... you get the idea, athletes dreaming for the opportunity, the sliver of an opportunity, just to someday be considered to try out for an Olympic team. Sorry to break it to you kids, but most of you will never get this shot, but Ray Allen does. What an amazing thing it is to make it to that dream that everyone has, but nearly nobody achieves. And what an amazing thing it is to deny that dream because you believe that you should be paid to wear your country's colors.
There are a lot of really stupid politics in sports that I could go off on, but this one really struck a chord with me. This is the message that is now being sent: "Why play for your country unless you get pay from your country?" Something about that just seems so wrong, especially considering that players receive money for medals won in the games. While it is not the multi-million dollar deal that these stars are used to, it's not bad pocket change for a couple games of basketball.
But you know what, I want to thank Allen. Thank you for being honest about your greed and speaking out about it. Thank you for giving someone who actually gives a sh*t the opportunity that you turn down so easily. And thank you for providing another example of the ignorance, arrogance and selfishness that the U.S. has come to represent around the world.
(Ann Truong | The Beacon)
