Ray Allen's politically incorrect statement

[Uconn93]

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/04/.../msn_landing.html?blockID=706938&feedID=10140

Ray was asked by a reporter last night about playing for Team USA in the olympics and responded that the NBA stars should be paid for playing on the team. Ray offered a justification for his opinion, explaining that the players were losing out on other money making opportunities during the summer, like basketball camps. While Ray is entitled to his opinion, and even did a decent job justifying that opinion, you have to expect that it won't play well in the court of public opinion where playing in the Olympics has always been regarded as a privilege in representing ones country. Hopefully the fall-out from his comments doesn't tarnish what otherwise appears to be Ray's excellent reputation.

 

[upstater]

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/04/.../msn_landing.html?blockID=706938&feedID=10140

Ray was asked by a reporter last night about playing for Team USA in the olympics and responded that the NBA stars should be paid for playing on the team. Ray offered a justification for his opinion, explaining that the players were losing out on other money making opportunities during the summer, like basketball camps. While Ray is entitled to his opinion, and even did a decent job justifying that opinion, you have to expect that it won't play well in the court of public opinion where playing in the Olympics has always been regarded as a privilege in representing ones country. Hopefully the fall-out from his comments doesn't tarnish what otherwise appears to be Ray's excellent reputation.

It's a pro Olympics now, and others are paid. Many teams receive some form of payment. Not sure if the complaint is only no money or a small amount of money. The Olympics are a big money maker for some.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Why is anyone going to care? He basically said he had better things to do than spend another 40 days playing hoops after already putting in a whole season. Keep in mind, he already represented the USA in 2000 and has a gold medal so thats probably not much of an incentive anymore. Not that shocking a stance in my opinion.

Wade agrees with Allen by the way..........http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7801502/nba-olympians-compensated

 

[rbny1]

Not a big deal. Ray has a well-earned, good-guy reputation. It won't be tarnished, IMO, by stating an opinion that a lot of other pro basketball players probably share.

 

[Uconn93]

Why is anyone going to care? He basically said he had better things to do than spend another 40 days playing hoops after already putting in a whole season. Keep in mind, he already represented the USA in 2000 and has a gold medal so thats probably not much of an incentive anymore. Not that shocking a stance in my opinion.

Wade agrees with Allen by the way..........http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7801502/nba-olympians-compensated

Nice find on the D Wade article. I'm glad to see that Ray is not sticking his neck out alone.

 

[huskiemaniac]

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/04/.../msn_landing.html?blockID=706938&feedID=10140

Ray was asked by a reporter last night about playing for Team USA in the olympics and responded that the NBA stars should be paid for playing on the team. Ray offered a justification for his opinion, explaining that the players were losing out on other money making opportunities during the summer, like basketball camps. While Ray is entitled to his opinion, and even did a decent job justifying that opinion, you have to expect that it won't play well in the court of public opinion where playing in the Olympics has always been regarded as a privilege in representing ones country. Hopefully the fall-out from his comments doesn't tarnish what otherwise appears to be Ray's excellent reputation.

Ray has said the same thing prior to other olympics so it apparently hasn't tarnished his reputation.

 

[UCweCONN]

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/04/.../msn_landing.html?blockID=706938&feedID=10140

Ray was asked by a reporter last night about playing for Team USA in the olympics and responded that the NBA stars should be paid for playing on the team. Ray offered a justification for his opinion, explaining that the players were losing out on other money making opportunities during the summer, like basketball camps. While Ray is entitled to his opinion, and even did a decent job justifying that opinion, you have to expect that it won't play well in the court of public opinion where playing in the Olympics has always been regarded as a privilege in representing ones country. Hopefully the fall-out from his comments doesn't tarnish what otherwise appears to be Ray's excellent reputation.

Ray Ray has his eyes on the dollar apparently. Remember his comment about trying to help build the practice facility by ways other than NBA player contributions? How much money do these guys need? Unless the Olympic team is made up of rookies, all of the players have mega guaranteed contracts and huge endorsement deals. In this case, a 'no thank you' response to a reporter is better than elaborating.

 

[61cygni]

Ray's speaking for the guys who will actually be in the Olympics, not himself. If you have some of the best players decide that don't want to play, you're not fielding the best team you can. Some compensation can only help, and if it's coming out of jersey sales, that sounds like a good source to me.

 

[Gurleyman]

Yeah, Ray isn't turning down a bid - he's not even on USA Basketball's radar any more (if they took a token old guy, they wouldn't take someone who already has a gold medal). He's talking from a macro perspective.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I think Ray's dead wrong here, as is any other NBA star already making more money than they and their children and grandchildren will ever need. Playing for your country is and should be a sacrifice. It should be a point of pride. I dare say that the endorsement value from playing on an Olympic team is not insignificant (which is how athletes like swimmers and gymnasts make money, since nobody pays them at all). So they are compensated with greater exposure, and very positive image building exposure at that. Somebody like D Rose leads the team to a gold and his endosements jump bigtime.

Any NBA player that doesn't play because of the money is a selfish a**hole. Not wanting to play due to fear of injury, or to spend time with your family, or because you have some charitable activity that will be disrupted...those are fine reasons. Hell, so is just needing a rest. These are not elementary school teachers who rely on some summer-time part time job to pay the bills. These are NBA players with max contracts.

 

[NEforceUConn]

http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/04/.../msn_landing.html?blockID=706938&feedID=10140

Ray was asked by a reporter last night about playing for Team USA in the olympics and responded that the NBA stars should be paid for playing on the team. Ray offered a justification for his opinion, explaining that the players were losing out on other money making opportunities during the summer, like basketball camps. While Ray is entitled to his opinion, and even did a decent job justifying that opinion, you have to expect that it won't play well in the court of public opinion where playing in the Olympics has always been regarded as a privilege in representing ones country. Hopefully the fall-out from his comments doesn't tarnish what otherwise appears to be Ray's excellent reputation.

Go back to the BCU or Duke board!

 

[Gurleyman]

NBA players' endorsement contracts don't really change a whiff based on the Olympics. Swimmers are really only in the public eye during the Olympics, so it's their only chance. I agree that in a perfect world, NBA players should be honored to play for free, but there are lot of things people in this country should be honored to do that they do not, and if you made a list of which of those things really matter, playing basketball is probably not going to be anything beyond "honorable mention".

 

[UCHuskies08]

How would expressing this opinion tarnish his reputation?

He offered an opinion.

 

[Gurleyman]

How would expressing this opinion tarnish his reputation?

He offered an opinion.

I think it would do damage if he turned down an invitation for said reasons. But not for just speaking from a detached perspective.

 

[FrostyNuggets]

The Olympics generate enormous revenues. Why shouldn't the talent get a piece?

 

[Waquoit]

I think Ray's dead wrong here, as is any other NBA star already making more money than they and their children and grandchildren will ever need. Playing for your country is and should be a sacrifice. It should be a point of pride.

Nah, the cold war is over. I actually agree with Prince Charles on this one. The Olympic ideal is about the athlete, not the country.

 

[Mots010]

This is what qualifies as a politically incorrect these days? With the title of the thread, I was expecting Ray to say he should be paid to watch the special Olympics.

 

[dogfan96]

I think Ray's dead wrong here, as is any other NBA star already making more money than they and their children and grandchildren will ever need. Playing for your country is and should be a sacrifice. It should be a point of pride. I dare say that the endorsement value from playing on an Olympic team is not insignificant (which is how athletes like swimmers and gymnasts make money, since nobody pays them at all). So they are compensated with greater exposure, and very positive image building exposure at that. Somebody like D Rose leads the team to a gold and his endosements jump bigtime.

Any NBA player that doesn't play because of the money is a selfish a**hole. Not wanting to play due to fear of injury, or to spend time with your family, or because you have some charitable activity that will be disrupted...those are fine reasons. Hell, so is just needing a rest. These are not elementary school teachers who rely on some summer-time part time job to pay the bills. These are NBA players with max contracts.

Yeah and what if they suffer a career-ending injury in the Olympics.. I'm pretty sure their pro teams would be able to get out of their contracts (or at least have it reduced a lot since they were participating in non-NBA activities). And their livelihood is gone. Playing basketball year-round (pretty much) is hard on one's body. And it IS still their job.

 

[freescooter]

I have no problem with some player deciding he doesn't want to play in the olympics, whether he's too tired from the long NBA grind, injured, or wants to be paid. If you don't want to play, don't play. Just shut up about it and move on.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yeah and what if they suffer a career-ending injury in the Olympics.. I'm pretty sure their pro teams would be able to get out of their contracts (or at least have it reduced a lot since they were participating in non-NBA activities). And their livelihood is gone. Playing basketball year-round (pretty much) is hard on one's body. And it IS still their job.

Did you miss where I said this "Not wanting to play due to fear of injury, or to spend time with your family, or because you have some charitable activity that will be disrupted...those are fine reasons. Hell, so is just needing a rest."

 

[Uconn93]

Go back to the BCU or Duke board!

WTF are you talking about?

 

[Uconn93]

Based on the long post on Dwayne Wade's facebook page last night and his tweets too, D Wade is catching a bunch of flak for his comments. Here is what Wade said on Facebook (not sure how to link it):


"I’m reading a lot of reports coming out about my comments re: the Olympics and compensation. And I want to clear this up personally...I responded 2 a specific question asked by a reporter on my thoughts of Olympians being paid. I never asked to be paid to PLAY. What I was referencing is there is a lot of Olympic business that happens that athletes are not a part of. It’s a complicated issue. BUT... my love 4 the game & pride 4 USA motivates me more than any dollar amount. I repped my country in 2004 when we won the silver medal and stood proudly to receive our gold medal in 2008 in Beijing. It’s always been an honor for me to be a part of the USA Olympic family & I’m looking forward to doing it again in London this summer."
I haven't seen anything similar from Ray, but you have to imagine that he is experiencing the same fallout as Wade.

 

[caw]

Just b/c I didn't want to start a new thread about Ray. Loved this quote via Bill Simmons' article on the Celtics:

"Allen's expiring contract and crunch-time pedigree made him more appealing, but no contender had the right assets to pursue him. At one point, Smith brought up a young player who could, conceivably, have been the centerpiece of an Allen trade. Danny just started laughing.

'We're not trading Ray Allen for [the player's last name],' Danny said. 'Come on! It's Ray Allen!'"

 

[JellyBean]

I saw D-Wade's comments on this topic as well. It is their opinion and I understand. And for the record, D-Wade said that he would play for team USA regardless. But to me their comments come off sounding tacky. It's like asking your grandparents to pay you for taking them to the store or mowing their lawn. I just would not feel cool taking their money. I would do it for the honor and a way of saying "Thanks". That is just the way I was raised. Sounds corny. But to put on a team USA jersey and represent the country. That is a huge honor. U would not have to pay me. I would do it for free and be happy playing.

 

[Waquoit]

Is K coaching for free?