Politics should have no place in the Olympics

The 2008 summer Olympics Games in Beijing are coming whether some people like it or not. It seems like some people are pushing to get their voices heard while others are simply trying to make a statement. The biggest concerns being raised by those who are trying to insert politics into the upcoming Games. Though the Olympics have been a forum for political exhibitions throughout the course of history.

Back in 1936, African American athlete Jesse Owens put to rest Hitler’s vision of Aryan rule over the world by winning four gold medals when Germany hosted the Games. American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos made their own stance when they gave a black power salute at the 1968 Games in Mexico. Boycotts began to take a place in the Olympics when in 1980, the United States decided to not participate in the Games after the host nation Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan while the Communist nation followed suit in the 1984 when Los Angeles held them.

Demonstrations are now taking place for the upcoming Games in August, most notably those in London, Paris and San Francisco. In the Bay Area, there were many concerns for the torch, which included previous demonstrations atop the Golden Gate Bridge. Protestors posted large flags and banners with the words, “Free Tibet” in reference to China’s strict human rights policy in their country.

These political outrage and demonstrations are beginning to take the spotlight away from the Games with the opening ceremony not even due to start for another four months. Many countries have been able to adopt their policies and change laws because of demonstrations and protests in the past. However at some point there must be some restraint and realization that the point of the Olympics is to showcase the best athletes in the world and not put political agendas on display.

Most journalists and others who have investigated the situation of politics in the Olympics are somewhat split on the sentiment that politics are continuingly taking away from the true nature of the Games.

“In democratic countries, people have a right to voice their opinion,” Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times columnist said in an e-mailed interview. “Human-rights organizations and other groups want the maximum publicity for their causes, and they know that the Olympics are watched by billions of people, so these groups latch onto the Olympics to achieve widespread dissemination of their message.”

Scott Herhold, a writer for the San Jose Mercury News, who wrote his opinion piece, “Olympic Games always have been about the Politics” on April 10, offers that political involvement in the Gamges is almost unavoidable at this point.

“As they're set up now, it's inescapable,” said Herhold in an e-mailed interview. “I could see a different kind of Games -- a much less nationalistic kind -- which might be less given to politics. But that would be a much different event.”

Herhold insists that the Games site is also a major draw for the host country to show their power and stature in the world.

“Athens organized the ’04 games to show the world its abilities,” Herhold said. “And it's particularly important to the Chinese, who have emerged as a world power to rival the U.S. and Europe.”

Amy Spiro, a contributing writer to the nyunews.com and Washington Square News, wrote her article “Olympics never about the politics,” on Monday puts forth the notion that the Games do indeed take away from the athletes.

“When you make the game about politics is most certainly detracts from the pure purpose of the game, which is athletic competition,” Spiro said in an e-mailed interview. “If the 2008 games becomes solely about China's treatment of Tibet (not an unimportant story by any stretch of the imagination) then who is really going to remember the incredible achievements made by athletes in every divisions?”

On the other hand, Kevin Spitz, a writer for the Daily Illini, the college newspaper for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champne, published in his column, “Ditch the politics, champion the athletes,” on April 10, that politics should be ignored but it does not take away from the athletes.

“Politics do not necessarily take that away from happening,” Spitz said in an e-mailed interview. “I think politics can be present, and the spirit of the games can live on.”

With the protests on hand, there has to be some indication on whether this will be a continuing trend into the Games.

Graham Messner, a local columnist for publicopinion.com, writes that the boycotts and protests will continue and take away from the spirit of what are the Olympics.

“I do think the Olympics make it easy for protest because there are too many cameras and too many members of the media to record any type of effort to punish such actions by the hosting country,” Messner said in an e-mailed interview. “It’s the perfect environment for a protestor.”

Others like Garrett Cleverly, a writer for the Arizona State Web Devil site, who wrote his piece, “Keep politics out of the Olympics,” on April 8, insists that China will take the precautionary steps to keep the protests at a minimum before the Games begin.

“I think China will do the bare minimum to clean up its act,” Cleverly told me on Tuesday. “They will do what they need to do to look favorable to other countries. But it’s only a temporary solution to a major problem and once the Games are over, it will go back to the way it was before.”

In her column “U.S. athletes grapple with China human-rights issues,” Elliott found that many U.S. athletes are focusing primarily on the training for the athletic competitions rather than getting involved in the political situations including the China’s link to violence in Darfur.

“Any athlete who feels compelled to speak out should be able to do so. Those who don't, should not feel they have to,” Elliott said.

Elliott, in her column said, athletes are being asked to look beyond their events and to look at the political issues at hand which may be hard for the young athletes to understand.

“There are some very young athletes (gymnasts, swimmers, etc., who may be only 16) and are not very aware of the world around them,” Elliott said.

Elliott was able to speak to the U.S. Olympic committee spokesman, Darryl Seibel who said American athletes can comment on the issues, but there are rules that they must follow, referring specifically to Rule 51 in the Olympic charter.

The charter, which can be found online, states that Rule 51 enforces that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues, or other sites.”

In her column, Elliott spoke to notable Olympic athletes including swimmer Michael Phelps who said he is mostly focused on preparing for the games.

However, on the other hand, Elliott spoke to U.S. softball player Jessica Mendoza who is a member of Team Darfur.

“There are other athletes whose way of preparing for their events involves becoming very concentrated and narrowly focused so as not to be distracted by outside events,” Elliott said. “Nothing wrong with that. Plus, I think that many athletes right now are still worried about making the Olympic team. Once they have made the team they may feel more relaxed about discussing human-rights issues.”

As for protesting at the games this summer, Elliott said demonstrations will probably be stopped quickly before anything can happen.

“I think that people will try to stage protests but that the Chinese government will have a heavy police presence and will quash anything as soon as it starts,” Elliott said.

To this point, China has still not taken the steps to improve their vows to improve human rights, pollution and press freedom. The government has made vague statements about efforts to help the cause of human rights and has done little to improve relations with foreign media that will be covering the Games. Although, China has spent over $20 billion over the last decade to improve air quality and minimize pollution. Despite the environmental improvements, not enough is being done to address all the other issues.

The current political demonstrations, protests and boycotts are starting to be overdone and disrespectful to the athletes who have trained all their lives for sometimes a once in a lifetime opportunity. Granted, China certainly has many things to consider as the countdown to the start of the Games continues. But, that does not give these other protestors that trying to advocate for human rights or change policies the right to disgrace their country’s athletes for their own personal beliefs.

The Olympics have not even started and already there is much more news about the not about the actual sporting events then there should be. The only thing that can change this is China making a clear stance and protestors beginning to back up and letting up a bit because it is needed. Many athletes are focused on the competition that is at hand, rather than focusing on the issues. They cannot be blamed for this because the Olympics is what they train and work for. The political issues have caused a stir for the games, but there is no room for politics on the greatest athletic stage in the world despite all of the incidents in the past because in the end it is all about ultimate athletic achievement.

Sport salaries get out of control

With the U.S. economy on the verge of a recession, salaries for professional athletes seemed not to have faltered. Today many contracts in sports are among the most recognizable and illustrious because of their dollar amount. In 2001, superstar major leaguer Alex Rodriguez signed the biggest contract in sports history when he netted a 10 year, $252 million dollar deal with the Texas Rangers. After being dealt to the Yankees in 2004, Rodriguez resigned with New York for an unprecedented 10 years, $274 million dollars. Single handily, Rodriguez is making more money than some countries make in a year. The ironic thing is that currently the second highest salary belongs to Rodriguez’s teammate, Derek Jeter, who makes nearly $19 million playing for the pinstripes in the Bronx. Despite these large sums of money, spectator sports make very little compared to the rest of the economic market and salaries of illustrious sports figures do not make much of a difference either.

“Spectator sports contributed less than $40 billion to the gross domestic product last year, or less than 0.3 percent. If you look at the sports salaries only, their share of GDP will be even less, basically of no statistical significance,” said Julius Walecki, professor of economics at the University of La Verne in a e-mailed interview. “In other words, you could either double or totally eliminate those salaries and the national economy would almost feel no difference.”

Still, inflated paychecks for athletes will be a continuing trend in the future. It is simply the way many organizations in their respective leagues do business. They thrive on profiting for their players, athletes or teams by marketing them with television, endorsement, marketing deals in addition to the revenue they make from ticket sales, apparel and other memorabilia.

“It's probably not a good trend at all, and we may not like that for different reasons, but at the same time the laws of supply and demand work rather well here,” Walecki said. “There's simply not enough supply of talented players and quite a bit of demand, so the prices of salaries will continue to go up.”

Yet, with so many athletes being paid so much these days, there must be some discontent with how salaries are being paid to these high priced athletes. Part of the reason may be the agent or representation for these athletes who continue to pitch and sell their clients. Another reason is that there are stronger and more gifted athletes than there was 50 years ago. The biggest reason though is that the sports industry is a multi-billion dollar business. It generates millions for teams and athletes but even more companies, sponsors and other with significant investments to sporting events. Still, mostly the superstar athletes are the ones that setting the standard for the best paid athletes as opposed to those learning less.

The average salaries for athletes in the various sports differ but in most, there are minimum salary guarantees that vary by sport when contracts are signed. In 2006, salaries in Major League Baseball rose nine percent from a year before, to a little over $2.6 million according to an Associated Press report. In other sports, particularly the main four (MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL) there are similar minimum contract deals, which are usually $1 million or more. However, all of these leagues have salary caps in place, which basically limit how much a team can spend on players. The point of the cap is to keep overall costs down in the league and to not allow one team with more money to dominate the sport. If owners do overpay, they often will have to pay the league back with their own funds.

Still teams like the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have no trouble paying their players and are always in competition to outbid the other for the services of the best player available. In the case of Rodriguez, both teams pursued a trade for him while on the Rangers in which both teams would have been able to extend his contract once it was over. Financial security is one of the biggest things pro athletes strive for when they first enter their respective leagues. Whether they are drafted, signed as a free agent or traded, they are always seeking for that sense of stability with their contracts. GOOD!

Yet it seems that many of these athletes are grossly overpaid and even undeserving at times of what they receive. Several players after they are signed are never the same or fail to maintain their play or improve because they settle down and stop trying. Others seem to just be bad investments when teams throw them huge amounts of money. For example, San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito is set to make $18 million this season as part of his seven year, $126 milllion dollar deal signed in 2007. After an underachieving season last year, Zito currently has an ERA over six and has lost both of his starts in this early season. In contrast, Rodriguez has been a perennial AL MVP award winner and Triple Crown threat ever since he put on a Yankees uniform.

Obviously, there are some athletes that fit the billing of their salaries and many others that fall short. But, the question of whether athletes are overpaid for what they do compared to many others in society that risk their lives including firefighters, police officers and emergency workers as well as doctors, lawyers and scientists.

Some close to the sports industry still maintain that there is some reason to pay players like A-Rod huge amounts of money and others reasons to not. Kevin Kaduk, who writes for the Big League Stew blog on Yahoo! Sports, recently compared how much Rodriguez makes in one season to the payroll of the 2008 Florida Marlins. However, Kaduk believes that high priced athletes are just part of the economic side of sports and capitalism.

“On one hand, the players are getting paid an awful lot of money just to play a game. On the other, they're also bringing in millions and millions of dollars for the men who own the team,” Kaduk said in an e-mailed interview. “The owners wouldn't be paying it if they couldn't afford it.

Brad Rock, a writer for Deseret Morning News, in Salt Lake City, Utah, shared similar sentiments in his article, “Athletes are not worth their wages,” on May 31, 2006. Rock turns to the fact that athletes are being paid because of their image and ability.

“Athletes are overpaid because it's a matter of supply and demand. The demand for great athletes is great, their potential to generate revenue is high, so they are a valuable commodity,” Rock said in an e-mailed interview. “Most skills can be learned. But at the pro level in sports, some of it is simply genetics. You can't "learn" how to play in the NBA, just because you want to be there. You either have the talent/size or you don't.”

And with sports salaries beginning to reach astronomical numbers, both Kaduk and Rock predict they will increase in the future.

“I don't see any reason why it would slow down,” Kaduk said. “While our country is facing a downturn in the economy, we haven't seen that trickle down to professional sports yet. I think people almost really see this as a life staple and not a luxury, anymore.”

“I think salaries will continue to rise,” Rock said. “Although most team owners say there is a breaking point, I think there would simply be fewer teams if salaries got too high for some owners.”

Overall, sports salaries are something to watch. It indicates how much attention and money these corporations, business sponsors and other entities are putting in the professional ranks. It is also an indication of our culture and how much we want to pay to see the best athletes in action. If owners know they can get fans to come watch the best athletes play, they will pay top dollar for them and hope to make millions more in profit from fans, companies and other financial investments made. The fact of the matter is that the industry is making tons more money than what athletes are making. But if the meter keeps going up, it is almost certain that sports salaries could get out of control eventually.

Pacman deserves another life

Over the years professional athletes and their run-ins with the law have become all too common. More than headline news, many of them often end up facing prison sentences and punishments brought down by the court. In recent memory, one of the most controversial decisions was over NFL quarterback Michael Vick who signed a plea agreement, which stated that he helped organized a dog fighting ring and killed dogs on his property. For his actions Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison and three years’ probation. For his actions, Vick was suspended indefinitely from the NFL and will remain ineligible to play until his release from prison in October 2009.

Although Vick’s crimes, which included fighting and killing dogs, are inhumane and appalling, the rap sheets for many other prominent athletes are just as bad. For example, the most notable, timely and newsworthy is the possible reinstatement of another troubled athlete is that of the Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones. The former University of West Virginia standout was the sixth overall pick of the Titans back in 2005. The Titans were not afraid to take a risk on drafting Jones, making him the first defensive player taken that year but that was despite brushes with the law in high school and college.

Shortly after being picked in April 2005, Jones’ troubles started with an altercation in a nightclub in July for which he was arrested for assault and vandalism. A year later, Jones was arrested again in Georgia, this time on a drug charge of marijuana although charges were eventually dismissed. Then in October, Jones was cited for a misdemeanor charge in Tennessee following an incident of spitting in the face of a female student a club.

However the most controversial event of all his legal affairs would occur during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas in February 2007. Jones was the center of an investigation where he was involved in a strip club fight and shooting that resulted in three victims, one who was paralyzed. Witnesses claimed that Jones started the brawl after beating strippers near the bar of the club and that his entourage being involved in the shootings. Then earlier this year, Pacman continued to go out with his posse as they visited an Atlanta strip club where he allegedly punched a stripper in the face.

Following the events in Las Vegas, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Jones for a full season. Pacman tried be re-evaluated and reinstated into the league before the Super Bowl. After being unsuccessful with that attempt, Pacman will try to make himself available to teams before the upcoming NFL Draft in April. Yet with a consistent knack for getting in trouble, there is still a chance that Pacman could spend another season at home.

Still, some in the sports media believe Pacman will get another chance soon. Among them is LZ Granderson, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and contributor to ESPN.com, who wrote about troubled African American athletes in his article “Danger of Street Cred,” on Dec. 4 2007.

“Pacman Jones should be reinstated because those are the rules the NFL stipulated,” Granderson said in an e-mailed interview. “Now, with that being said, I feel he should be required to meet with an NFL official on a regular basis because he's proven to be a man of poor judgment.”

A different sentiment was expressed by Tim Dahlberg, a national sports columnist for the Associated Press, who wrote a piece “‘Pacman’ deserves a lifetime NFL ban,” on June 20, 2007.
Dahlberg believes all the details have not been disclosed yet but that Pacman will eventually go down the wrong path again.

“He may deserve a second chance, but not until he comes clean about the shooting in Vegas, which he hasn't,” Dahlberg said in an e-mailed interview. “Just in short, I think Pacman will eventually get in trouble again because he has a history of ignoring warnings and taunting authority.”
From a coaching perspective, University of La Verne football head coach Andy Ankeny maintained that if Jones stayed out of trouble during his time out of the NFL that he should get another chance.

“As long as he kept his nose clean when he was suspended, he deserves another opportunity,” Ankeny told me on Tuesday.

Yet, he believes that the next team that takes him on must be cautious and lay down the rules for his conduct, which if violated might force him of the league once and for all.

“The head coach that takes him has to set aside strong expectations for him and set aside a policy that if you do this, you are done,” Ankeny said. “With his opportunity, he does not have a margin of error.”

Pacman has certainly been a headache to the NFL, the public and especially law enforcement agencies. However, there have also been glimpses recently of Jones getting his life together and trying to make his return to the NFL work. He is in shape and has been pleading through his attorney to get back in the league. Obviously, this seems like a case of a wealthy, spoiled young millionaire who splurged, partied and hung out with the wrong crowd.

Now with the potential of never playing in the NFL again, Jones has to get his act together or he could be out of the only job that he has known. In his defense, Jones has shown a side that many do not know and that has often been overshadowed by his off the field troubles. Among them is donating money to the 100 Club, a foundation in Tennessee that supports families of emergency services. He also reached out to a local Nashville high school that was trying to raise money after losing one of their football players in a car crash. Later, he was involved in giving money so Nashville police officers and firefighters can acquire new uniforms.

Despite his history of troubles, Jones should get one final chance by the NFL and whichever that decides to take a gamble on him. When he has played, he has been an asset to that organization on the field but not so much off the field yet. With many legal troubles, Jones should be condemned for his actions but I believe he may have learned his lesson because he has tried to stay out of trouble and the spotlight recently. He knows that this may be the only opportunity he gets to redeem himself and get back into his sport. Should he violate his agreement as an NFL player again, the game could be all over for Pacman.

College sports betting is needed

The worlds of sports gambling and college sports have almost become synonymous over the years because of their interaction. There is no doubt of a connection between two, especially during the college football bowl seasons but it resonates especially during the time known as March Madness, which is the men’s Division I college basketball tournament.

An astounding 37 million people are expected to participate in pools, or wagering with bracket picks amongst one another for cash and prizes, according to an estimate by Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a job counseling firm in Chicago. On the Internet, people are engaged in pools as well. As many as 200,000 pools have been created on Facebook reaffirming the popularity of the tournament with wagering and betting on March Madness.

These pools in turn help to increase the popularity for college basketball, the NCAA and its respective teams and organizations. However, the question is whether the wagering and betting during March Madness is a problem for the game and the NCAA? Sure it generates money and popularity for all those involved, but does it harm the game?

With so much money on the line, there are concerns among many in the NCAA that student-athletes or others involved in the athletic departments of many schools may get involved in gambling. It violates NCAA policy, specifically article 10.3 of the Division I manual, which states, “Individuals shall not knowingly participate in sports wagering activities or provide information to individuals involved in or associated with any type of sports wagering activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition.”

This means student-athletes as well as athletic administrators and staff members cannot engage in filling out their own brackets for pools if there is a fee or any money involved.

There have been many incidents in the history of college basketball where players have thrown games or “shaved points” which decides games in their favors because of deals made with bookies or bettors. Historical events of gambling on college basketball include Florida guard Teddy Dupay who was linked to a gambling investigation which eventually ended his career in 2001. Four years earlier, two former Arizona State basketball players, Steven Smith and Issac Burton Jr. both pleaded guilty to a point-shaving scheme.

To compare these events to college basketball films, one of the first movies that come to mind is the 1994 release of “Blue Chips,” which starts Nick Nolte and Shaquille O’Neal. In the movie, Nolte plays the coach of a college basketball team but finds out one of his players was part of an alleged point-shaving incident with a booster of his basketball program. Nolte chooses for a while to keep the matter under wraps because it went unnoticed by governing parties like the NCAA and the conference. Also, an upcoming film to be released later this year, called “Boston College Point Shaving Case”, will investigate the dealings of Boston College basketball players who dealt with mafia in fixing games in the early 1980’s.

With so many incidents affecting the integrity of the game and many others that probably will never come out, there are questions if betting should even be allowed on college sports.

Many in the sports realm who follow gambling were able to give insights on this growing and possibly unstable problem.

Josh Peter, a writer for Yahoo! Sports recently published, “Betting Threat” on March 18, which investigates the link of gambling to student-athletes.

Peter believes that with the introduction of pools on the Internet, there is more concerns about what many college athletes may get into.

“Internet pools have contributed to the NCAA's concerns about athletes' involvement in gambling. Not so much because of the pools themselves, but because of the vast array of gambling opportunities available online,” Peter said in an e-mailed interview. “You no longer have to find a bookmaker, and you can place a wager even more discreetly. And that concerns the NCAA.”

With so much more accessibility, you may think the NCAA would look into Web sites like Facebook to try to deter some of these pools from happening. But Eric Benderoff, a technology reporter for the Chicago Tribune, who wrote an article, “Facebook sites face scrutiny for NCAA March Madness pools” on March 14, believes that the NCAA will not take action.

“I do not think the NCAA will get involved in enforcing illegal pools,” said Benderoff in an e-mailed interview. “Overall, I think the NCAA has a tremendously hypocritical attitude toward this. It's possible they may assist the Feds go after illegal gambling, but only if it involves student-athletes or perhaps people close to those athletes. Otherwise, they will continue to operate with blinders on.”

To see what some Division I schools were doing with March Madness coming up, I explored what was going on at Ball State University in Indiana. Kyle Shaner, the assistant sports editor of the BSU Daily Newspaper, published his article, “Gambling in polls prohibited,” on March 20 which offered insight on the situation at his school.

Shaner maintains that those close to the athletics department have made clear of the policy at the school and with the NCAA regarding gambling as he learned in his own article while interviewing a men’s tennis player.

“Joe Vallee, a men's tennis player at Ball State, said the team is reminded every year about the NCAA's no-gambling policy. The teams are reminded right before the NCAA basketball tournaments, he said,” Shaner said in an e-mailed interview. “Ball State informs all of its coaches and athletics staff and the reminders are then relayed to the teams. From what I've been told, the coaches are responsible for telling their players and they do that in person. So it appears that Ball State does remind its athletes and staff about the policies but it is not extremely vigilant and prying into the people's lives.”

Still, there is a consensus that even though gambling on sports like college basketball is a problem, it is needed for its continued stay of interest.

“I think gambling increases TV viewer ship, which in turn increases what networks can charge advertisers for airtime and what networks are willing to pay for broadcast rights,” Peter said.

“But gamblers who have wagered on the betting line are inclined to watch that game until the final horn.”

“I have no problem with the policy and it seems like members of the NCAA do not either,” Shaner said.

As long as student-athletes, staff and administrators refrain from betting on games, gambling on sports like college basketball should be here to stay. It is essential for people to be able to bet on sports, especially those in college because it’s part of the excitement during March Madness time. In the college ranks unlike the professional levels, there are surprises and many underdogs emerge. Anything can happen and people enjoy being able to make wagers on an engaging event like the NCAA tournament. In addition, a record high $228 million was wagered last year on college basketball around March Madness time which is not only good for the economy but good for the growth and popularity of the game. People enjoy the fact that they are able to make picks that can end up hurting them or bringing them glory depending on the outcome.

It is because of this that betting on college sports must continue but with a careful eye on student-athletes and those involved with many of these institutions. They must be able to be educated and held accountable if they are to break the policy and not adhere to the NCAA agreement they sign. It is a privilege to be an NCAA athlete and it does come with sacrifice. However, when your career is on the line and the prestige of your college is in the spotlight, there is no reason to disgrace yourself and your school. As for everyone else, they should also be wary of the kinds of bets placed because you never know what will happen when you risk it all. But for now, March Madness should continue to be fun for all those that can legally bet on it.