did ray allen really say this?

[greenlion]

i don't know if celtic fans are just eluding this topic, but it has been around that dwayne wade is asking for compensation in lieu of their appearance to represent usa at the london olympics..included in the mix was ray allen's apparent comments which wade only seconded..i don't know what to say, much less think about his persona, as an individual far more as a proud citizen of the united states, but if this holds true,this is definitely a step back on the real "smooth" guy we all know he is..just a thought, if indeed he said that, there goes ray allen to the highest bidder next season..

[hpantazo]

if he did say so, I would think it's just stating the obvious, that if you want to get spoiled wealthy athletes to give up their free time during the summer to work, you will have to pay them to convince the best talent to compete for you.

[crownsy]

i don't know if celtic fans are just eluding this topic, but it has been around that dwayne wade is asking for compensation in lieu of their appearance to represent usa at the london olympics..included in the mix was ray allen's apparent comments which wade only seconded..i don't know what to say, much less think about his persona, as an individual far more as a proud citizen of the united states, but if this holds true,this is definitely a step back on the real "smooth" guy we all know he is..just a thought, if indeed he said that, there goes ray allen to the highest bidder next season..

Lets slow the roll a little bit.

Is Micheal Phelps, or any other US athlete, not a proud citizen because he uses his Olympic fame to net endorsements?

Of course not.

The only difference with Pro ball players is that they get paid NBA salaries, so we assume they should give up their summers for free.  

But i see nothing fundamentally wrong with what Wade or Ray said. they did not ask to be paid for the Olympics. They said they felt that their should be some compensation for 2 months of non-stop practice before the games.

Not sure whats so outrageous about that. It's pretty much the basis of capitalism. You do work, you get compensated.

And that's not even considering that the threat of injury is just as real in this non-compensated situation.

[greenlion]

thanks crownsy for the insight, but that is really the point, you guessed it so right, its capitalism that really tarnishes the whole concept of pride for your country..i can safely say that there are many, as able and talented, who, if their numbers were called would stand up and answer the call and not give feelers that they should be at least "compensated" for their lost summer due to this once in a lifetime privelege..you are darn wrong, because it is so outrageous, they belong to the less than 5% of the entitled citizens of this great country,with millions earned, playing for your country is just giving a little back to what this proud nation has showered you..so if you say that it is just right that they get compensated for playing for your country, you must probably belong to the 5% of your population, entitled and priveleged, who sadly still or purposely and greedily miss the point..

[More Banners]

Quite a few entities are making quite a few bucks on the Olympics  Money is flying around this huge media event like crazy.  Why should an athlete donate to these corporate interests by working for free?

That's been Mark Cuban's position for quite some time.  Why should athletes under contract to the Mavericks' risk injury playing for anyone else, let alone sometimes for corporate sponsors that are in competition with his own business interests.  He didn't like that his players felt obligaged to play in the Olympics, and essentially equated it to screwing him over.

[greenlion]

you got a solid point there, invites are handed out to athletes deemed qualified, in this case nba players for the national squad, if beforehand you had this "commercial" concept of the games and feel shortchanged, then like mark cuban, discourage joining your athletes..and if you as an athlete have this paranoid thoughts of risking a big size contract because of an injury sustained in the process should forego it in the first place..as envisioned, the olympics is for the pride for your country, screw the businesses gaining from it, you play for your country not for them..nobody is obligated, your name is called, its up to you if you think it's a risk worth taking, its not a money making endeavor..with ray allen and dwayne wade, with the millions they earned, it seems its not enough...

[fairweatherfan]

What Ray and Wade specifically mentioned (though Wade's walked back from it now) was getting a cut of jersey sales and the like. 

I don't really have a problem with that - if people are buying an item because your name or picture's on it, wanting a share of that income is reasonable to me.  That's a little different from just getting a salary to play, I think.

[blink]

I brought it up in another thread about Rondo playing in the Olympics.  I found it a really greedy statement by D Wade / RA.
D Wade has since backtracked and now said he doesn't want to get paid for being in the olympics.  his PR machine kicked in a little late.

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=55204.15

i don't know if celtic fans are just eluding this topic, but it has been around that dwayne wade is asking for compensation in lieu of their appearance to represent usa at the london olympics..included in the mix was ray allen's apparent comments which wade only seconded..i don't know what to say, much less think about his persona, as an individual far more as a proud citizen of the united states, but if this holds true,this is definitely a step back on the real "smooth" guy we all know he is..just a thought, if indeed he said that, there goes ray allen to the highest bidder next season..

[Celtics18]

I'm torn on how I feel about Dwayne Wade and Ray Allen's position that professional athletes who make big money for themselves as well as many other extremely rich people should get compensated for the profits that they are helping to generate for large corporations like Nike, NBC, ESPN, MCDonalds, the Miami Heat and countless others. 

And, if Wade and Allen had been making a case for the rowers, the curlers, the table tennis players, and the steeplechasers, I would have felt a little better about what they said.  They may have been taken out of context, but if they were just speaking for themselves, that's, at best, pretty stupid.  How are you going to think that comments like that will be well received?

[aporel#18]

It's not that strange that the athletes want some money, and it's about time the NBA starts asking for money too.

I'm not saying it's a good thing, but athletes do get paid by the National Comitees when they win a medal. I'm not saying  it's fair that LeBron is paid the same as a guy/girl who wins the archery competition, but that's not the subject, in my opinion there's two very important questions:

- The IOC is making very big money out of every Olympic Games, so it should be them who pay the athletes, not the National Commitees. That's unfair because it depends on how much money a country is willing to pay: USA paid $25000 for the gold medal (link), while Spanish Comitee paid €94000 for the same thing. I feel ashamed of my Government, by the way.

- While the athletes at the Olympics are suposed to be "amateur", reality says otherwise, and there's the case of professional sport athletes. Some of them are millionaires, some of them are not, but they all play for professional clubs, who are paying them. So I guess the IOC should establish some kind of compensation for them in case of injury, via insurance. But you can't rule out that the professional leagues want a regular compensation also.

The only comparable thing is the FIFA World Cup, where you find also millionaire players. The Spanish players who won it in 2010 won €600000 each for their victory (although there was a lot of protesting, the media didn't give a lot of space because of the fake patriotism involved in this era sports).

Professional soccer leagues ask FIFA and their european branch UEFA for money. They are paying professional athletes who are playing for another team, in this case National Team, and they want their part.

FIFA and the IOC are making humongous money out of the greatest global sport events, so it's not that strange that they have to share with others.

[Senninsage]

Nothing can damage my opinion of Ray Allen. He's my favorite player in NBA history after Michael Jordan himself. No story, even one as weak as this, can hurt my opinion of him.

Ray Allen is the prime example of a true professional, and is an athlete and individual of the highest possible class. It will take much more than this to tarnish such an amazing reputation in my eyes.

He's also not really one to shoot off at the mouth. If he said something like this, I would have to hear in context from Ray's own mouth.

[azzenfrost]

A cut of the jersey sales is not an unreasonable idea.

[Celtics18]

Nothing can damage my opinion of Ray Allen. He's my favorite player in NBA history after Michael Jordan himself. No story, even one as weak as this, can hurt my opinion of him.

Ray Allen is the prime example of a true professional, and is an athlete and individual of the highest possible class. It will take much more than this to tarnish such an amazing reputation in my eyes.

He's also not really one to shoot off at the mouth. If he said something like this, I would have to hear in context from Ray's own mouth.

If a reporter asked him the hypothetical, philosophical question; "Do you think Olympic athletes should get paid?", I can't fault him for giving his honest opinion, even if some folks aren't going to agree, but if he was asked; "would you ever consider playing for the Olympic team if you were invited?", and he answered, "only if I got paid" that would be a little different.  

I have a strong hunch that the context was closer to the former of those scenarios.  

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Let me get this straight, it's wrong for an athlete to ask to be compensated for doing something that could cost them their livelihood? If one of the bigger named players were to have a career ending injury, not only will they lose out on the money they WORK for but will also be an end to something that they have been doing all their lives! If I'm going to risk my livelihood, PAY ME! This isn't the same as bankers stealing people's money, these athletes work for their pay on and off the court (what you think they come out the womb in basketball shape?)! If your boss came to you and said, "hey, we are going to work for hours to be better than 'insert any opposition', you do all the work and take ALL THE RISK but guess what... you gotta to do it for free while we make MILLIONS of dollars... hey, don't fret, you will get a medal for it! Whose in?!" What would you say, "sure Massa"? Maybe some of you just want to "do it for your country" (as if it's war, haha, you people make me laugh), but maybe some people don't... why are they the villains again?

[Smutzy#9]

Its along the same line as the NCAA takes

"Lets exploit these individuals for millions of dollars, yet not pay them anything"

That being said College players ARE getting scholarships so i guess that counts for something.

All personal opinion really. I dont think we should chastise them if they want to be paid to participate, likewise i dont think we should chastise them if they choose to participate without being paid for the aspirations of a gold medal.