• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!

NBA Players Not Playing In the Olympics ! ?

PolsonGrizFan

Well-known member
Could anyone explain the lack of participation by some of the "hot shots" in the NBA, by not playing on the U.S. Olympic team?

IMO this is unacceptable! I just can't believe it.

Thanks
 
personally I don't think NBA players should be playing. In fact, I would support dropping the Olympics all together. Here is why I have no interest in the Olympics:

1) Every sport already has a world championship in which athletes from all over the world come together to determine who is the best. If there is a world champions already for every sport what do the Olympics prove?

2) 1/2 the sports are completely subjective. Sports like Gymnastics, diving, figure skating and (gasp) ballroom dancing are about style, which means politics come into play. You can probably tell one is better than another, but the degree to which athletes are measured seems arbitrary. Note I am not saying these people are not athletes, just that if the decision about who wins is based taste there will always be conflict, and the Olympic are supposed to be about bringing nations together, not introducing hate and conflict.

On a related issue, who thinks that Paul Hamm should give up his gold medal? I don't pretend to understand this issue, but it the South Korean really should have won, I would hope that Mr. Hamm would recognize that integrity is more important than gold.
 
Grizbeer: Re: Paul Hamm. Gosh, let's not tarnish this kid's medal more than has already been done. I know that the So Korean should have been started at a higher point level than the judges started (human error?) HOWEVER... once the videotape was reviewed they spotted an infraction that wasn't deducted, thus the result would have been the same in a perfect world.

Unfortunately, this sets a really lousy precedent if this medal result is changed. Now, I do believe that the awarding of the gold medal to the Canadians in the Winter Olympics was the right course of action because of a corrupt judge. However, inperfection in the judging is not a reason to re-do the medals..... otherwise, why not make all judging via videotapes where ~ theoretically ~ all infractions could be caught. :-?
 
I don't really understand the issue, just my impression that everyone seems to agree Hamm should have had the Silver and the S.K. the gold. If that is the case, (and I don't know for sure it is), I just don't know that the right thing to do is to keep a medal that you didn't earn. If he does feel that he earned it, by all means he should keep it.
 
The U.S. men's team just lost to Argentina in the Semi's. Doesn't surprise me. They don't play with heart and their arrogance is annoying. On a side note, I wonder if the "big time" stars that decided not to play have any regret now.....I doubt it.

If I was in Hamm's position I would have given the gold back on my own. However, I certainly don't think he should be forced to. If his decision is to keep it, then it's his right and he should do so.
 
I think once a judges decision is final, and the 'win' is awarded, there is no going back...

They dont change the outcomes of basketball games / football games, after the contest is over and its all said and done do they?

Mistakes happen, and everyone has to live with them...
 
GoodGodGriz said:
They dont change the outcomes of basketball games / football games, after the contest is over and its all said and done do they?

Mistakes happen, and everyone has to live with them...

Sometimes they do change results - it happens all the time that a team uses an ineligible player and they have to forfeit games, and sometimes championships. Not really the same thing, but clearly there is precedence for changing results.
 
I think Dan Wetzel, a national sports columnist said it best....

"Of course Paul Hamm should have given the medal up, if only because how cheesy is it to win on a "clerical error"? But more importantly, he would have been able to cash in on a worldwide movement of goodwill that would have forever painted him as the embodiment of the Olympic ideal. Now he is a male gymnast with an asterisk next to his name."
 
Would the other Korean gymnast then be asked to give up his silver to Hamm? Just askin'. Personally, I agree with the 'perfect world' analogy. And those that watched all the rotations that night, save for the vault, know Hamm is clearly the best gymnast in the world.
 
DuCharme said:
Would the other Korean gymnast then be asked to give up his silver to Hamm? Just askin'. Personally, I agree with the 'perfect world' analogy. And those that watched all the rotations that night, save for the vault, know Hamm is clearly the best gymnast in the world.

That's a good point. However, he's not giving it up and I don't fault him for that.
 
Back
Top