Seattle SuperSonics guard Ray Allen is reported to have said that NBA players should be paid for appearing at the Olympics.
Quote:
"You're dealing with a different animal than the other sports..You've got people who are selling out buildings (venues) and if you want these particular (NBA) players there, how do you get them there?..You're making money off their merchandising. You're not making money off the discus thrower."
He added:
"I'm by no means saying I need to get paid..but you're talking about some of these young players who are some of the best players in the world and why would they want to play in the summer?..Most athletes, they hunger for the Olympics every four years. They spend their lives wanting to get there and that's what they want to do..But we're different. We've just finished an 82-game season and we want to chill out."
He said that salaries for the NBA professionals could be generated from merchandise that is sold featuring the players.
The Olympics is all about money anyway, what possible difference would this proposal make?
Otherwise, these guys needn't bother going and the Games will continue without them.
No comments:
Post a Comment